there are 2,752 things wrong with this picture.

it doesn’t hurt any less because a mere decade has [almost] passed.

it doesn’t feel any more comfortable just because we’ve had some time to get used to a new skyline. and hate it.

it doesn’t bring us any additional comfort to sit patiently and watch as cranes and heavy machinery attempt to bring back to life what we all know will never be again.

it isn’t any easier because i watched it crumble from a classroom in a southern state while you watched it fall from a sky that you could almost touch.

the sting isn’t any less great because i wasn’t born here.

and the sadness isn’t buffered by the fact that i won’t likely die here.

it’s a bittersweet reminder of where we came from.

and a significant blow to the idea of how far we still have left to go.

but it doesn’t make me any less proud to love this town.

and to know that she’ll flat out kick your ass if you so much as show her your teeth.