dragging  lifeless limbs out into
gnawing-numbing-whipping cold air,
forced to trace worn-in footprints
trod by weighted soles, simply doing as they're told.
blind flight through the same
mile markers and blurred road signs,
of a grey scale town filled with dead ends and cul-de-sacs to spin out in.
meticulous repetitious maneuvering over towers of steam,
skin shielded from burns by a molten patchwork
of scars festering fearlessness on the surface,
and covering  layers of pages of crossed out phrases
left unmuttered to undisclosed faces.
nostrils filled with pipe dreams
blocking the taste of bitter reality
that's dripping down a swollen throat.
lips hinging on the promise of a cigarette
or a cold brown bottle to sink into,
to deflect the rejection of a soft forbidden kiss
projected by sinister ghosts sworn to inflict
nothing but uncertainty and instincts to flee.
soaking in their shadow is crippling,
but its all chocolate and mashed-potatoes
coated with sugar-laced pleas
when i crawl out from under a tomb of old dreams,
and slither into a porcupine bed
to count old regrets until my mind succumbs to sleep.