a hive in fall; a fallen hive

drifting weightless in the sun kissed air just like every other morning. just like every day before the sun rose with a new promise of unending abundance, confirming the creeds we nurture in our hearts. today we rule. today we thrive. yet somehow i can tell that this day is not like the others. the air is thin and a chill enters my body. the familiar melodies praising the empire do not emanate from the trees. the constant motion of the world at our feet has been put to rest and in its place arrives an eerie stillness. i look to find solace in the faces of others but i only find a renewed sense of tension. the pride we all used to wear so boldly has seemed to vanish over night. but how can this be? this kingdom we built with our hands stood unchallenged as the sole proprietor of glory. a community filled with vast riches. walls lined with gold, sweet splendor dripping from the ceilings and covering all the heirs of greatness with triumph. lionized and demonized by all the outsiders. but today our close-knit hoard seems more like a society of strangers with no ties to bond one to the other. even my closest companions seem to be chocking down an unbearable secret that cuts like glass in their throats. but what can it be? is this an unstable paranoia? is this just the suspicion that dwells deep within? undisturbed yet waiting to manifest itself at the right moment. no, i can see it in their eyes. they knew this would happen all along. as our once solid fortress begins to separate and flake lifelessly to the ground below i come to the realization that this was always our fate. flawless beauty fades and all around ruin is within sight. anger swells inside. this can't be the end. this can't be how our eternal summer falters. we cannot be robbed of all our prominence, left to humiliation and defeat. all around me friends, neighbors, acquaintances drop to the ground. they fall in one motion, some struggle to regain awareness but most just sink without a fight. i will not allow this to be our final chapter. if we are going out we are leaving in a flash. with my teeth set to the edge i find the kerosene. i'm setting it ablaze. in glory we were born. in glory we lived. and in a blaze of burning glory we will forever be remembered.