Living on the edge

Did he ever nod his head 'yes'? Say the word out loud?
A brief moment of doubt, perhaps fear.
No quicker than a flash, a needle in his hand.
And never a second thought for another day.
Magic promised in a clear liquid,
an emptiness filled, a storm shored up.
He sips from agony, smells pain.
A prisoner of his own darkness.

He's living on the edge.