I drew back the curtain and there was a face in the window
Staring in at my life with unblinking apathy
Night’s halo around that wide-eyed smile
The mouth of a fiend; he looked like he might be lonely
So I invited him inside for some company
The candle he carried burned with darkness
Spreading shadows in flickering arcs across the walls

Enveloped by this world of softness and new shadow
Leaning into this fleeting embrace
He can already see ahead to the end that will come
When it realizes he does not belong
Has no role to play in this subtle lie
False comfort in a room left to burn at the coming
Already it heaves to cast out his body, an infection

He knew it was false the moment his skin made contact
The warmth coming from flames eating away beneath the floorboards
Soon to be back in his own world, and all the rest to follow
Away from the knowing, and the truth written in neat lines
They wander, wallowing in the despair of lost comfort
Led by he who has already forgotten softness
Who always preferred concrete to a bed anyway

Photo by Juan Pablo Arenas from Pexels