Here in the dark, huddled around
fires, clinging to scraps of light -
like old men holding to
memories. Stench curls
up, tendrils of smoke that
clog the air. Dirty rain
pours over flimsy canvas.
Shivers echo through the camp.
Hidden in the shadows,
darker deeper than the dark
spreads like a fever, tricky
to detect but not
impossible. Fearless people
crowded for the relief
of the warmth unknowing
of the danger.
No one knows how
deep it goes
or how dark their
hearts can be.