Ink embraces my dreams,
Dripping slowly from the rooftops,
Caressing the curve of the avenue,
The toe of my boot.

Now letters slink into being.
They form and grow into
Shapeless A’s and B’s within the shadows of
Time-dusted buildings,
The walls caving inward
Like limp cardboard boxes.

I walk sluggishly onward,
Toward the sliver of black velvet sea,
Thick and pulsing in the distance.

The ink is sliding down windowpanes
Like slick, oily rain.
The window’s garish reflections of the world
Darken into realistic colors.
Ink curdles and festers
In potholes and sidewalk cracks

The letters become spindly,
With spider-web spires.
They join hands, acquainting
Making chain links down the gutters

My legs attempt to run
Down the ink engulfed asphalt,
The soles of my shoes
Sliding and twisting.

Words are forming,
Things like:
Whispers
Darkness
And Watching

At the sea, the black water
Encroaches on the shore
Swallowing small agate,
Glinting silver
And crumpled leaves