"We are terrible for each other, and, yes, we are a disaster. But tell me your heart doesn't race for a hurricane or a burning building. I'd rather die terrified than live forever." -A Softer World, E. Horne and J. Comeau

Let us first admit that we watch the fire to see it burn, not to try to help. We do not distance ourselves from the things that we wish to help, no matter what you say. We do not back away from a burning building if we intend on saving the people trapped inside.

We are all gods to each other, ghostly pale in the early morning light, humming songs that we don't remember the words too. We are sick of houses without windows, and sick of safe choices, and sick of running out of words to say to everyone else.

The road to hell is paved with absolutely nothing. It is steep and constantly under construction and the best thing to be said about it is that I expect it to be short.

Probably, there's going to be some turbulence.

Probably, you should buckle your seatbelt.

We are wasting borrowed time and we know it, biting our lips and sleeping too late and enjoying the silence. We want to know what it's like to live forever, but we want to know what it's like to die in someone's arms.

I don't think that we can have it both ways.

But we can stay in limbo, if you'd like to call this limbo, this place in between where we want to be and where we can't be. We pity the people who convince themselves that they are perfectly happy, because at least we can admit that we are not.

Because, really, all we want is to be able to fly without fear of death upon landing. We want to be brave enough to stand close to the burning building, if only to feel its warmth radiating like that of our own skin.

Even if we have no intention of saving the people inside.

I will be your burning building if only you say that you will never back away.

____

A Softer World . . . oh gosh. Every genius point I earn, 50% of it goes to Joey Comeau and Emily Horne. Go check out their website, please. Please? It's" a softer world . Com" minus spaces.

And if you want to donate to the cause of an artist with a wardrobe obsession, I'd be happy to provide the forwarding address for that Being in love is totally punk rock shirt.

There's really not much more to say, unless you want to know that I need a haircut and the sharp E on my guitar snapped and that having a headache is kind of like repeating a word over and over again, because after a while you either forget what it means or it just becomes a part of you like anything else.

The sharp E is the one that gives me blisters, anyway.