The streets stretch empty,
silent but for my footsteps—
rhythmic, restless,
kicking pebbles that go nowhere,
like me.

Smoke curls from my lips,
a ghostly whisper dissolving
before it can answer
the questions I never say aloud.

The night doesn’t scare me—
I’ve made peace with shadows,
with streetlights flickering like old dreams.
But the darkness inside?
That’s a beast with my name on its tongue.

I walk faster,
as if the wind might strip me clean,
as if somewhere ahead,
there’s a version of me
who knows how to stop running.

But for now,
I take another drag,
watch the ember burn,
and keep moving.