Oh...
Have you been looking long?
Then this is where you will find me
here at the edge of the world
sitting at the edge of madness
where most won't go
where the wind blows cold
whistles through the air
like a thousand dark voices with poisoned tongues

I sit here near the edge and watch desperate hands
(black as shadow, black as night)
grab blindly from the darkness
wanting something to hold onto
needing something to fill their void and make them whole
praying for something to light them up from inside
some small match to burn in their belly
to keep them warm while they wait to die
hoping for something to still the voices
dying instead of making choices
You will find me there

You will find me here
with my feet dangling into the dark
stirring up spirits
fishing for shadows and souls
Here I catch the darkness in my hand
(a thousand insect legs in sick syncopation across the back of my arm
and inky black eyes empty of intent sending shivers up my spine)
I let it dance across my skin
grinning all the while

And sometimes
when the music plays
(screams of pain and sadness set to the tick-tock percussion of broken hopes and broken bones)
I dance for the madness
I dance for the madness that blows on the wind
I dance for the darkness that sits in my hand
I dance for the voices that sing in my head
I dance for the man who hangs from the rope
I dance for the crow who picks at my scalp
and I dance for the dragon that writhes on my back

then when I am tired
by madness and the dance
I lay on my back and breathe black breath into the wind
then sleep and deeply dream
dark, heavy dreams
of falling angels fallen stars
broken glass and bleeding hands
black cats and fat cigars
smoke, sin, and sadness
tears, pain, and madness
then wake shaking and trembling
alone in the cold

AcB Friday the 13th of April, 2001