I recognise this place,
the silver trees,
the fractured concrete...

How did I get here again?

Must've stumbled left
instead of right
at that alleyway back there
where the shadows roam the pavement,
and drip black from the leaves.

Lost.

Maybe this time my companion, denial,
will be easier to ignore.
Maybe this time I will manage
to keep breathing until I can escape,
until convalescence.

But the shadows wrap around my wrists,
slide under my skin.

I am monochrome, inside-out,
I am breaking in the side streets.
No one sees me, no one hears me,
as I trace inky footsteps.

Just cold ribbons inside me
that tie around my heart.

I recognise this place,
the lilac scars,
the crimson blood.