Malign

Malign

I fell in with some bad urges
they led me down to the underpass
where we immersed ourselves in dirges
and swore at the nice people driving past

I caught sight of one young girl
sculpted in a benign dashboard glow
her father drove them to the world
and back again to waiting home

bitterness made a bonfire
of an abandoned comfy sofa
the dervishes of regret
cackled in an endless pirhouette

I reclined in the dirt and grime
of wasted thought and time
shivered at the idea
that this was my dank here

damaged voices tore a song
from out of their decay
as a newcomer to the throng
I made king for a day

there was spectacle even here
the urges formed a chorus line
against the bonfire's flare
arms linked and foully blind

incoherent inconclusive and malign
together by circumstance rather than design
several times a doubtful silence fell
a lull amongst the cohorts touching hell