Demons in the Smoke

" The dust settles. The air warms. Spiders spin their webs. No one is there. Darkness hides. Darkness deceives. Darkness is within. Waiting...”    - Minette Walters

Clicking the mostly plastic lighter
Heat from the small flame seeping into my  chilled skin
The  crackle of the devils lettuce  filling my lungs with its  catatonic smoke
Holding it inside my lugs letting some of it settle into my blood as if  its dust
Relaxing smoke becoming spiders creating suffocating  cocoons around my agonizing demons
Inhale… hold it until it's kicking to escape… fall in love with the silence

The ember glows orange
Deja vu in quick succession
Chasing a stillness
A routine that's relied on to ground  her in the present

Demons forming in the ribbons of the smoke
The mouth of these demons defined  by  knives for teeth
Its claws dripping blood
Choking my words
Her demons becoming solid in the shadows

Frost forms a wall… a barrier  usually not crossed
Connection consumed by dark skeptical thoughts
Coping behaviors tinted with fear

The ember glows orange
Deja vu in quick succession
Chasing a stillness
A routine that's relied on to ground  her in the present