i see...

Picture courtesy of Sin City

i look out over the city from the rooftop of a deserted building

taking in the smells of fast food and petrol fumes.

i see the brightly flickering lights, feel the beat of a bass drum,

one that pulls you into the hot pulsing air of music and lust,

seducing your body into an alcoholic haze

that awakens in a strangers apartment

as the sun pierces your consciousness

beside a name you cannot recall. 

i see the hustlers of oblivion in the shadows of old doorways,

briefly illuminated hands exchanging greed for a numb nirvana,

that veils the shadows in your soul before you sink into the welcome silence

of an absent mind and anaesthetized limbs.

night after night i watch these hollow seekers haunting the streets,

a veneer of carefree enjoyment firmly in place,

whilst it’s shame and guilt that propels them back to the caverns of hell,

seeking to die one more time by their hand,

and escape a tomorrow that is lived in yesterday.