He staggers down,
Down the empty side-street,
The shadow pavement of the side-street,
Jutting out at awkward angles,
And wait for you to trip,

Stumble,
Mumble,
And then the fall,

His head thumps and beats
With the rhythm of his footsteps,
Splashing in the puddles,
Black and unclear as hope,
That d
          r
            i
             b
               bles and S P L A T T E R S off to the sides,
And covers the sidewalks,

It feels like free fall
Over tops of skyscrapers,
Eyes glazed over,

The movement slows down

The moment slows down...

The pavement was so cold
And comforting,
The way it filled the void,

And numbed the pain.

The visions wavered and shivered,
Smelled like the musky bar
Where men shrug over, hunched,
Drowning their souls in the half light,

Circumnavigate your life,
And look from on the outside,
Into the window,

"It all looks so bleak from here,"

Stopped dead in your track,
Marked out with thumbtacks and strings,

(But shh, watch, it's coming)

Out of the corner of your eye,
Watch the poison slip out,
Slowly, slipping and slinking,
Like the SNAKE,
Curling around your middle,
Ready to strangle,

Screaming comes to realisation,
Breaks the window,
Shatter
Stumble
Mumble

And then the fall.