One Year

The security camera caught it all,
grainy video feed and dirty images.
She screamed for help, you could see
the air moving rapidly away.
He stood motionless, in the background
caught forever in a digital wasteland.
They moved in, monsters of the night
no remorse or moral equivalent.
A gleam appeared and disappeared
the rapid succession of images
caught in 240 frames a minute.

Life looks less lifelike
in still images.

She screamed, the foggy air
capturing her voice
and secreting it away.
He froze, frozen in time
as they inched closer.
Just after closing time
minds go numb and heroes' voices
quietly go dumb.

In between the frames,
the action wasn't caught,
sadness and remorse
living a lifespan shorter than
that of a mayfly.
Some heroes never arise,
and some are struck down before their time.
Gods and monsters visible
in the milky moonlight,
indistinguishable and inseparable.

She screamed, but no one
came to the rescue.