Tuscaloosa

I watch from 2500 miles away.
I watch the world collapse around you. My home, my friends.
Watch the walls fall apart, fall down to pieces without a fight.
Wish I was stronger. Wish I had wings that could spread out like an eagle and save the ones you loved. The ones I never met.
I see the tears in your eyes, and some part of me wants to cry too.
Because we're living the same dream.
I feel human tonight. Brutal like a punch to the face.
You probably feel it too. That everything is still so fragile.
Life. Is so fragile.
That despite what we want to believe, there is no tomorrow.
We've just been making up beautiful, unpromised stories.
I paddled out to the center of the lake today.. silence.
Thought about how the sunshine felt on my shoulders, and how it must have felt on your shoulders a few days ago.
What matters tonight?
The same as yesterday?
I look at these photos of broken homes, and exhausted, shattered faces.. and I imagine myself there too.
Witnessing the destruction of all I posses.. how many seconds does it take?
Suddenly comprehending the sacredness of being alive.
What an incredible gift. Even for the least of us.

I hope you are resting tonight.. I hope at peace.
There is nothing between us but space. We're the same.
I hope I see you soon.





Andrew Tipton