It was around this time we
secretly preferred songs that
began with salutations
like "Dear brothers and sisters"
and "Dear enemies and friends",
while outside of our bedrooms
we preached and yelled about the
meaninglessness of it all.

And we climbed to the tops of
radio towers that once
sunk warships and talked about
being nothing more than
     chemical reactions,
while in the backs of our minds
we always hoped that we burned
just a little bit brighter.

Then one day we realized
that what used to be a great
explosion was now just a
tremor.
And words are just words.
And up is up is up, but
we had usually been
too down to realize.

And back in our bedrooms we
listened only to songs
about broken records,
because they all sound
when you play them.