Hugh

I saw a dying man today
his face sunken
into his skull
as if it had been
sucked inside
by a tiny Hoover.

His shirt hung on his
wirehanger shoulders,
his clothes hung loosely
on his withered body
like a collapsed beach umbrella.

I gazed at his hands
as they tried to unlock the door,
they were shaking slightly
and his veins, blue and visible,
stood out like lines in a Braille novel.

What invisible foe
had devoured this man,
ravaged his body
and consumed his life force?
if I strained I could
almost hear it under his skin
thrashing around violently
preparing to feed again.

I closed my eyes,
clamped my hands to my ears in despair,
I knew then,
that it was insatiable,
indestructible.

He stood there
defenseless and mortal.