does the caged soul in the lantern make you wonder if all things bright and beautiful were to be seen but never felt? or did your scheduled interruption of ludicrous malcontentment waltz right into your empty mindspace and pluck your pretty eyeballs out, because, well, i obviously convinced him to, and what good were they, anyway? you never saw me storm into your vaulted life with half determination, clear the dust off your subconscious so you could see the constellation; you city lamp, it hurt your pride when you learnt to look inside and found an excavated void of vice and nowhere you can hide, tell me, was it arduous to decide to climb the cliff and learn to fly? i'll tell you why: that vengeful little bird has acquiesced without a word to aim and shoot you in the leg, then watch you grovel, watch you beg until you shatter onto the floor, heartbreaking piteous and poor, like a broken autumn leaf but it's not pretty anymore; molten wax around your ankles, i'll let you ornament my candle stand, let you burn right through the night; i should've known my little counting stars were far too bright, too fluorescent for you, feckless, worthless, bewitching scrap of pretty, vain frustration.