On the eve of her rebirth and
For the first time in months
I looked up to the stars
And caught her final
Senescent smile
A culmination
Of hysteria
And hope

Its fire is a beacon
An alarmingly bright disruption

I'd grown numb to the constants

Burned by discovery
I'd retreated into comfort

But even as I adhered to these tired laws
She was examining them

Splitting them apart and transforming them
Every action with hot determination

I feared for her demise
As if it had already taken place

But she is not the spacial divide
Her wounds will cool with time

She is never fully discovered

And space is not the same as distance
The end is never the end

There is no such change as death
Only the subtlest shift in time

And a choice to see her through it

(pragmatic)
Morality thrives
In choices derived; beware
False dichotomy

(irony)
Destiny denied
Bright, painted constellations
Burn with wounded pride

(solipsism)
Clouds collide, falling
From scorched skies, calling my name
Scream, shriek, shout -- in vain

(phoenix)
Dawn wakes, breaks, explodes
Extinguishing flames within
Gravity? Defied

(volition)
I've never believed
In stars, the fire burns within
Defiance, freedom

(shower)
Ad hoc clarity
Moments of serenity
So existential

Morality thrives
In choices derived; beware
False dichotomy

Ad hoc clarity
Moments of serenity
So existential

Destiny denied
Bright, painted constellations
Burn with wounded pride

Clouds collide, falling
From scorched skies, calling my name
Scream, shriek, shout - in vain

Dawn wakes, breaks, explodes
Extinguishing flames within
Gravity? Defied

I've never believed
In stars, the fire burns within
Defiance, freedom

I learned the difference
Between burglary and robbery
Seven years ago, on a breezy
Late summer evening

I remember it well

Not just from the shock of it all
But because it had been
A rather pleasant day
Up until the moment we arrived
Back at the apartment

The noisemaker alarm
We'd had many an argument over
Was going off and

(Silver lining: at least it worked)

The door stood ajar and
In a moment of pure brilliance
And zero hesitation
I went straight in as if I'd had a clue
What I was doing

The noisy half of the alarm
Was across the room
Ripped from the wall and its mate
Wires hanging off the door and frame
Where that uselessly persistent hunk
Of plastic, now on the floor
Had once been attached

I picked it up and typed in the code

My eyes began to adjust and count
All the ways we'd been violated
On that otherwise peaceful evening
And in a way, the worst offense
Was the still open refrigerator door

The police finally arrived

We gave our statements
And reported our losses
And filled out their forms
And I mentioned that
The last time I'd been robbed
Was when I was a child--

Did I witness the theft?
No
Was I home at the time?
No
Was anyone still in the home?
No

Then I was not robbed and certainly
It was kind of them to inform me so

When they finally left
We packed our clothes
And stayed with friends
And by the end of the week
We were one step closer
To buying our first home and

We never slept in that apartment again