Toxic

Don't look at me.
I'm hideous.

Don't talk to me.
I might think you want a friend.
Or worse, that it could be me.

Then begin again The Dance.
Where things are nice.
For way too short.

Conversation, clever posts.
A meeting of the minds.

Then you see.
Me.

And draw away? No...
Recoil.

Silence. It goes downhill.
Fast.

I reach out, thirsty.
Clingy, mewling.

I persist, hungry.
Manic, cutting capers.
Ever thus - The Fool

Then in the mirror.
I catch a glimpse.

And draw away? No...
Recoil.

It's me, not you. Clearly.
So, so, sorry.

Topside? Virgil Brigman on the bottom.
I'll be staying for awhile.
Goodnight. Sleep tight.

Don't follow.
Toxic.

Image by Scott Clarke from http://www.rifters.com/real/gallery/rifters.jpg depicting characters and setting from Starfish by Peter Watts. Attempts to contact the artist have been unsuccessful to date. Credible objection to the use of the image will be honored by it's removal.

Virgil Brigman is a character from the movie The Abyss by James Cameron.