<3

"There was a time when everything
devastating happened after an explosion"

- Starting and ending the piece with this was powerful. I took it as, coming to the realization that there can be a great deal of pain and desolation at any point in life. There doesn't always need to be a catalyst or a reason for it. The "you'll always live under attack" and compulsion to "be more than what we know" seemed to speak on war, on violence though maybe not necessarily tangible, just branching out into other aspects of our life.

I loved the repetition of "make it last"; I read that slowly, like each syllable itself needed to be properly absorbed, cared for.

And there's a spark, a will to live and grow and do more than just survive.

The title spoke to me the most, like the fear of something will keep us muted, keep us back, keep us from our potential until we realize that the fear may never fade away. Or the point of chaos and destruction may be a threat at every moment of our life, and we have to cope with that. That glimmer of hope at the ending lines, the reflection of how far you've come... a really interesting write, Jordan!