Hand outstretched
blocking out the sun
he dared step out
dared face the light
he dared fight back
every forward step advancing
an army, of critical probing eyes
gawking, the defeated addict
He would\'ve gone further
had he not caught sight
of himself, in a passing window
the pathetic filthy creature
he saw, a far cry
from the a plus student
he once was, a life
all up in smoke
with every perfect circle
in the air
he learned to blow
Back in the deep shadows
he feels safe again
the shadows have accepted him
accepted his cowardice
without judgment, without reproach
stepping out was a flashback
one of many, and none to come
Stepping out never happened
Needle in arm, what good
does courage do him really
beside amplify his shame
when he can just go
with the flow in his veins
sinking high, flying low
brains dosed asunder, ravished
in his own abyss, in crevice
and dying happy
in the best living he knows