5th Alarm.

You dug your claws into me

I still cannot walk through metal detectors to this day, the shrapnel that you left inside me.

A parting gift Like the parting of the red sea A sea turned red, overflowing with the remains

We were torn apart: limb from limb. Tendon from tendon. Dismantling the structure and severing the connection

Wires that were initially crossed, slowly removed—one by one Eventually erased, until there was no trace

Complete annihilation.

The undergrowth burned clean Through haze, the ashes of destruction, the promise of starting anew.

But I wanted to ask you this, and maybe you can clarify it for me.

When the fire burns so hot that there is nothing left: no remains, no signs of what was there before…is it really a blaze of glory?

Or just pointless self-immolation?