Lights too bright, burning aura that hurt the eyes

Soundtrack thumping in her mind like some ghost’s wailing, 

Throwing off her balance, making her head feel full of air

Faces known for decades now stood blurred, smiling but impersonal

10 … 9 … 

The bubbles fell flat upon her tongue, the liquor bitter like her heart, 

And the room swayed as if it were breathing, but not from inebriation

Something was off—an oppression upon her soul, unbearable emptiness

Growing as the seconds ticked away, a confession unspoken

8 … 7 …

Though she smiled plastic, a trained reaction

She could not shake the sense that none of this had meaning

Robotically “having fun,” same as every year

A pattern that held no significance

6 … 5 …

Interspersed in the crowd of hard shadows 

She thought she could make out things reptilian

And the hand that reached for her bore scales 

The face coming closer leered like a devil

4 … 3 … 

There was something she had needed to do 

She could not recall what it was 

But it sat upon her chest, as the scales loomed over her waiting

2 … 1 …

Foul breath upon her face, her eyes only seeing something to flee

She’d been here before, forced, and knew she should not be again 

Trapped, memory dawned of one who understood 

One who should have been there with her, she with him 

0 …

The cheer was washed away, drowned, as clarity came to her in silence

Though she mouthed it, fighting the grip of the devil, struggling in mind and heart

Smiling but under water, and needing escape, the realization overpowering … 

Karma had found her