It's Only Me

They smile and laugh.
Allowing their smiles to reach their eyes.
Making them sparkle with what is mistaken as warmth.
They embrace and provide comfort.
All the while keeping that blade hidden in the shadows.
Their voices like a Siren's song.
Lulls the unlucky into a sense of unknowing contentment.
Just before they strike like vipers.

I see it all from my perch.
I am the fly on the wall that sees it all.
And yet,
I'm powerless to stop it.
They smile so sweetly that even I am bamboozled by that sparkle.
The Siren's song flows so eloquently that I cannot end it.
And they strike so quickly and so surely that I can do nothing but watch.
Maybe trying to intervene is all for nothing.
All they seem to want to do is hurt others.
And nothing will stop them.

When will enough be enough?
Will it never end?
Maybe I should help them end each other.
After all, once they're all gone, it'll be only me.
For all eternity it will be only me.
My entire life, it has been only me.
Me against the world.
Whenever I attempt to leave my perch and join the world, I get hurt.
The vipers strike so surely as to penetrate the chinks in my crustacean armor.
Making me withdraw again and again.
Is this world even worth saving?
Or should it be only me?

After all, if it's only me...
It's really nothing at all.