Frayed

Elder light dwindles against

grime-tinted windowpanes,

the stench of corpses exudes

from a badly defrosted fridge;

a circle of smart phone screens

illuminates a dishevelled chamber

where all that was once forgotten

becomes remembered again.

Clutching our secret burdens

we weary few answer the summons,

shared joy a rare moment of triumph

condensed into acronyms and emoticons;

amongst fragments of our former lives

the best is hoped and the worst planned for,

as wretched screams out on the estate

never cease to be pleas for help.

A cigarette carelessly dropped

sets the unknown world alight,

like a spider's broken body

a map folds in on itself;

stunned into furious silence

we are forced to accept that

without the guide we're lost

before we have even set off.