I wish I had that nest egg;
that California confidence she forgets.

My envy for it has never ended;
it's laid in wait this decadent decade.

Desire, a wildfire, crests the hill that night;
smoke flowers from room to room.

We start to suffocate but are good runners;
by now, she has caught her breath.

Behind us, our ashes;
above, her sky.

Starlit pathways unfold before her feet;
my envy sighs and rolls over.

I give stumbling chase, emerald eyesight;
I chase her laughter through the maze.