Love

To be ignorant of anything and everything that anyone and everyone is doing in the world around you. To walk through life, through each and every day seeing hearing feeling smelling all yet registering nothing, as if in a dream, a trance, not there at all. Your feet carry you, step by step, one foot in front of the other as the landscape before your eyes sways like too much drink. You think of the night before, as you couldn’t clear your mind, no matter, but its like a drug, like dull aching in your heart and the only thing that kills pain is a bottle of painkillers washed down with a bottle of alcohol, til the room spins like you wanted it to so you can finally lay down and pray for your sacrifice to a god that doesn’t exist for the justice and mercy and fairness that isn’t granted and hope for your suicide as the ceiling comes crashing down and the shit hit’s the fan, and slices deep into your heart til you vomit with the blood and the shock of it, bend down to gather the broken shards of your soul as a fierce wind picks up, shattering the windows around you.

The roof is ripped from its walls as you stand slowly, stock still and turn all about; looking left just in time to see the bullet as it pierces the skull of a helpless woman’s husband, within a split seconds time remorse and extreme sadness appear on the shooter’s face as the gun drops and he falls to his knees and husband careens to the ground and into his wife’s arms, as her heartbreaking shrieks pierce the night air and her tears stain his soiled shirt.

As if the world were in slow-motion, slightly hunched in despair, you turn slowly right, to watched a woman slam against the wall behind her, sending 5-year-old family photos crashing to the ground, the pain of her husband’s betrayal in his blows more painful than the glass cutting into the heels of her feet, as their children cower, whimpering in the corner, fear overcomes her as her husband slowly turns towards them and she reaches for his shoulder, only be thrown into the kitchen table.

Disbelief takes hold and you dare to look behind you as a young soldier, just returned from war, is stabbed to death in an alleyway behind the restaurant he has just exited, as he tries to protect his new fiancée, when a young thug, trying to pass initiation into a gang, attacks her and she is left standing there screaming, the engagement ring he gave to her over dinner, barely yet warmed from her body heat, as its ripped from her hand and she kneels screaming, cradling the young man’s body in her arms.

Despair overcomes your broken and bleeding heart as you turn to face the world in front of you, dust rising from the crashing buildings, left without care, ashes from the fires all around settle at your feet, gunshots and cries ring out, shouting, screaming, crying, crashes and silence as young girl is nearly trampled by the people rushing about around her, late to some business meeting here, a date with a love taken for granted there, not caring that she is emaciated and starving without a soul to comfort her. You fall to your knees and she notices you, a soft, pained pattering as she approaches you and asking why you are crying, she gently lifts your chin and places a single, warm kiss in the center of your forehead. You embrace her and suddenly feel warmth spread throughout her small frame and surprised, you pull away to find her glowing skin, healthy and exuberant, a glorious smile lights her face as she whispers in your ear.