Soul Walking In Winter

The icy claws of winter's hands
  take hold of this solemn night---
    my breath steams against it,
And everyone else is tucked in warmth, out of sight.

The smell of barley and a touch of rye
  rises faintly from my lips---
    setting out onto the barren sidewalk,
Yes...here I go again.

The Winston glows it's cherry red
  as I draw in and feel at ease---
    I release the smoke from my lungs
And watch it seep through balding trees.

This is the kind of night I love,
  just me and footsteps on frosted leaves---
    but just the same it cuts at me
And though I'm cold I burn with a need...

The need to laugh,
The need to cry,
The need to scream with no reason why...
The need to love,
The need to touch,
It's overwhelming and it hurts so much...

And when that need comes unto me
  it posesses my very soul---
    and I want to tear into myself
Ripping the skin away from my bones.

Then I could walk among the town
  as vulnerable as I could be---
    all my secrets bare to every eye
To do what they want with me...

I know it sounds pretty odd
  and absurd, I surely bet;
    but when you see me you can laugh
At a skeleton with a cigarette.