Reflections.

There

He stood

Peering down

On the polished floor

A silhouette

Stared back at him.

Those dead eyes

Strange

And now

Even he

Could not read

Nor decipher

The cynic

In him.

An inversely proportional anomaly.

When we lose

Family

Friends

Values

Morals

We start to find

The real creature

Beneath our skins.

Literally. Figuratively.

What distinction

Separates man

From beast?

Footsteps

Following

A previous one

There

See

Door half-open

He just stood there

Silent

Reflecting.

Where was his place

In this dreadful affair

Broken lines

But there was no denying

He was one of the catalysts

And so

Involved.

Walk

Approach

Cold wind

Dull sky

Monotone lighting

Relative silence.

On the porch

Snow white coat

Razor sharp

Contrast

To a blood red one.

These people

Including him

Appeared to be similar

But only that.

Appearance.

A poor form of judgement

To characterize a person.

For you see

The cynic

Sage

Recluse

These three

All

Cold

Calculating

Ruthless

Vicious.

Birds of the same feather

Flock together

But that is a wrong analogy

When the context

Involves dangerous individuals.

These are

The lone wolves

Of society.

Those who traipse

Beyond the fences.

"There is no need to pretend. Hikigaya-san."

This man

Almost

Mirror image

He who came down

The path of despair

Difference

Between he and himself

The recluse had hit the bottom

Now

Slowly

Float up

A carcass

Of what once was.

The two

Looked out

Into the bleak.

Here

See

What is the color

Of this flower

Before it had withered away?

Who is a man

Before he was

A shell?

Like a wine glass

Filled

White and clear

Sweet nectar.

From the bottle of life

Pour in

Vinaceous

Red and bitter

Taint what once was pure

Spill

Until none of the sweetness

Remains.

Because beneath every cynic

Is a disappointed optimist.