with slender steps & silent fingers
he creeps through the breathholding house
as Hypnos plucks at his mind and the night chill runs her cold nails across his skin
he shrugs all off and surges on through the dim
rustling still, frozen air as he tries to rub free the heavy lull on his eyes and the ink spilled below them by too many nights such as this
the world yawns cavernous around and for him and threatens to swallow him whole