Embrace-the-Flames

The carnage had hit most of South Draumur, reducing the tall industrial buildings that had surrounded our sub-par apartment complex to rubble. Luckily, we were out of the demolition’s radius by a hair’s breadth, but the impact had still managed to shake away the building’s already poor foundations, and we were left on a tilt. It made everything disorientating; by simply being at an angle my world became chaotic. Moments after the dust had settled and I had managed to steady myself, I fled mine and my sister’s flat, and ran down the several flights of stairs heading to the ground floor. I didn’t bother trying the elevator, it hadn’t worked before; it definitely wouldn’t work now. Even though the view of the wreckage was better off seen by the window in my apartment, I wanted to go outside and see it from the same level as the debris. However, when I was taking the final staircase and was nearly at the ground floor, I stopped. There was that girl, somehow both young and old, the girl

Pieces of stars, silver and gold Line horizons, distant and cold, Gleaming brightly, they spear our eyes With burning light our vision dies Stumbling blind, we trip, fall and fold Over like paper that’s too old, Too soft and discoloured from mould Tumbling into the sea that sighs Pieces of stars. The hearts of the strong and the bold Are much more than we can behold So we sink down under dark skies Lower still, never to arise (Among those) pieces of stars.

These are people. These are madmen. They don’t care about how deep the knife went. Too embarrassed to show up on your side. Playing games with you and say you ought to hide. Don’t tell the difference, unless you explain all the feelings that gathered inside your brain. Like penniless and suffering in summertime. Where murderers and psychopaths come play at night. ‘Neath the sky, Nobody cared, Nobody knew. Nobody could remember if I wasn’t with you. You tell me no one asked, No one shamed, Nobody dreamed About the missing heartbeat in the empty seat. It’s dumb wishes, dumb wishes, dumb wishes. These are shadows under the oak trees. These were leaves running out and coming after me. Skip the things that they question once they know When you took the car outside, you weren’t alone. Outnumbered by the green blades. In the openness but emptiness inside of me. Should I cry, you’d be ashamed because I’m weak, When to you I’m just the flavor of the week. And try you now, what do you