Be careful out there

Be careful out there

And go easy on yourself.

Cowards run together

And hunt in packs

Like wolves,

Hungry to devour

The naive traveller.

It is what they do

To protect themselves

From their own demons.

Driven to destruction,

The pursuer pursued

By bloodlust.

A craving never satisfied,

Sucking the life

Out of the world,

Addicted to suffering,

Never at rest.

Heartless and empty,

Broken shells,

Dried husks,

Devoid of truth and innocence

Bereft of humanity.

Greedy for a taste of love

To corrupt with their bile.

They would steal your soul,

Linger over its warmth

And reflect in its glory

As it disappeared.

Slipping through

Cold spindle fingers,

Dry tinder sticks

In search of home fires.

Old wolves

Too old for the fight

Are cold shouldered.

Un-sated, their appetite

For excess grows as spirits decrease

And they howl for new blood,

To wet dry whistles

Before they turn on each other.

Let them rut,

You have enough to contend with

Just keeping your

Own demons in check,

Without offering yourself

Up to be sacrificed at the altar

Of some other tortured soul.