we die, and the stars watch. let them perish, venus whispers to mercury. see what they have done.

nebulas look at us and laugh at our "rebirth". they know that something as stained as this cannot - will not - come again. humanity was the galaxy's mistake and now it must be blotted out with fusion.

perhaps not all of them are vindictive. (far-off in the sky, andromeda mourns the loss of her story. virgo keens to cancer as they cry silent stardrops.) but for the most part, the universe celebrates our demise.

once upon a time, we worshiped the earth, but now we slumber on as the world crumbles. the planet will not wake us.