I have always stared longingly at it
on wide open mornings
or endless Sundays, even after a hellish shift
or post-apocalyptic nap

Soaking in that pink and brooding scope
caring or warning,
forever hopeful of what’s to come
reassured that nothing before this really mattered.

When the moon is full, tortilla-round and brazen
I think of you
and the way you also loved
to stare at the sky.

The stars mended overhead
Igniting the night
Sounds of the bustling highways
Blocking out the fear of falling

I stared up at the skyscrapers
No one would notice if I fell
Life would keep going on
It always does

A cold breeze brushed through
Taking a step at a time
Up the skyscraper
Until I see the skyline

Lights exploded
In the whites of my eyes
A city engulfed in darkness
Standing still

It only took a second
For my feet to fly off the concrete
Plunging towards the ground
No one noticed I jumped.

The world keeps moving on.

How overly flawed
My mistakes are,
As they flew
Breathlessly
Under the skyline.

I exhaled those regrets
But they kept on
Rebounding
Back at me.

In a small town with big dreams
A girl named Chicago
Plays sim city
She builds the skylines
She will one day design
But until then her mom
says video games are just a waste of time

Heart becomes prison on the horizon!

Gravitating toward home
with its star stained skyline
a latch on every door
torn over coffee
the smell of peppermint
a tear here where tears have been
the hope of a stranger
helping to embolden
an empty cup
pouring.