slammed down with a smirk, and
a counter; smile turned scowl
as I get checkmated. Some days it's
the rush of victory, feeling higher
than the sun itself, and some days its
the sigh and reluctant handshake of
defeat. It never mattered the outcome;
what mattered were the people, the place
the energy of a bunch of nerds who love
that same rush we all get from another
hand, another card, another game.

"Let's duel!"

There, I see the silhouette of a man,
Who's constricted in bandages and pain,
By misfortune of fate was overran,
While only embraced by the murky rain.
Once, his life was adorned with gleaming light,
Accompanied by his treasure and muse,
Who helped him with success throughout the night,
But is now for the golden-world no use.
He strolls the streets in utter confusion,
Something he was the master over once,
But this time he fell for that illusion
Who before provided luxuriance.
  Once the master-magician of the sweet,
  And now a hopeless madman on the street.

Misfortune shines upon me tonight.
Her gentle caress becomes an insatiable gnawing at my flesh.
The chorus of the world brings me to my knees.
To all the pain that eats me away, I laugh.

A bird dies in the coming of dawn.
Her young become consumed by the darkness and pass.
Were we ever loved, those children and I?
The invitation is to my bedroom, not my heart.

I can still recall a black figure, peering into my abysmal eyes.
Crawling inside the deepest recesses of my mind.
The forgotten memory stranded in a sea of the lost.
Oh cathartic catastrophe, let me hold that shadow once more.