respawn.

In faded grids

and six-second shards of life,

and frozen timelines

and the incisive brevity of one hundred forty keystrokes

we become polygonal soldiers

in a high-definition campaign

actors in a glowing basement screen.

resurrect when obliterated

and run past our own scattered digital limbs

in search of another elusive victory 

all over again,

striving for levels 

always 

just out of reach.