A gloss

When did all of our talk become small?
Diminished by our quotidian communique
We mention weather and food
Meetings and traffic
A gloss to cover the wriggling things underneath

We used to discuss them
The denizens in the dark
Shined bright lights in milky eyes
Asking why

They shrank from us
But we were undeterred
A united front
Against the things that sting
Neurotoxin sucked out
Before paralysis set in

But they've evolved ahead of us
Grown more potent
Deeply camouflaged
They're surrounding us
We can feel them
We can pretend we've won
Knowing all the while
The tables have turned
We should hold each other
While we can still move