Shadows — Birthing Death

All jacked up, full
Of caffeine in a tailwind,
Some climbing to do still —

Look at the plumes!
Are those dust devils?

A few spotty flakes.
It’s ash,
It’s people.

Fire zipped down the dark sky —
Flattened the school.
Now shards of students and books

Rain down from the tumescent
Night of flickering shadows —
Birthing death.

What makes a nation great?
What makes a nation miserable?

What I’m Reading:

The night air seemed to vibrate with worlds just outside of comprehension. A future hovered, soaked through with memory, between the buildings and beyond. Her future, ready to be met.

— Susanna Kwan / Awake in the Floating City