Why

Only the reflection in the half shattered mirror could explain her pain. I felt as if I knew her--but the memory was blurred. Holding groceries in plastic bags stretched out of shape, I stared at the abandoned car in front of me. Maybe I got it all wrong. This cannot be. What a beautiful day it was, with crisp, white snowflakes tenderly dropping from the ash, white sky, every house lit with fragrant candles, families gathered in together in living rooms cracking jokes, and children tumbling in the snow. She stared at me with icy sapphire eyes. Circles of gray trailed out of my nose with every breathe I exhaled. From her eyes, I saw the reflection of myself.

She pulled out pen and paper from her purse and scribbled down a word or two. She slid her hand across the crumpled paper on broken glass and ribbons of red started to swirl on top. Rich, cherry red dyed the paper a different hue, a different feeling. I said in my head that this was all too familiar. Kneeling down, speechless, I looked at the ground. The ground was once so serene and dear to me. But now, two red ribbons were intertwined to tell a story. To give an ending. We were all talking with our voices on mute. Many times I looked at her questioning if we were feeling the same thing. I could not tell what I was feeling, I only knew of coldness and chills. The red ribbons froze in the snow as droplets of tears washed away her makeup. Smudges of blackness streamed down her cheeks. A woman walked by and asked if everything was okay, then walked away as no one answered her.

We did not deserve this, if anyone asks. Maybe I did, but I know that she did not. It was all a fairy, a happy story until she saw the end. All those years of waiting, and she ends up sitting in a circle of red ribbon drawn from her blood. The sky turned pale gray and the snow continued to fall. The flakes were larger and looked more like milkweed than actual snow. She stuffed her sliced hand in the snow and shouted at the abandoned car, "You god damn motherf*****! Why?! Why?!" I did not know why and nor did she. Only the person hanging halfway out of the car door knew why. I guess it is too late to ask why.

The Fray - Syndicate

Halfway around the world 
Lies the one thing that you want 
Buried in the ground, hundreds of miles down 
First thing that arises in your mind while you awake 
Is bending you til you break 
Let me hold you now 

Baby close your eyes 
Don't open til the morning light 
Baby don't forget 
You haven't lost it all yet 

Don't know what your made of 
Til the one thing that you want 
To come in with the dawn and suddenly changes 
Monday, syndicate meets everyone the same 
But all we've lost to the flame 
Listen to me now 

Baby close your eyes 
Don't open til the morning light 
Don't ever forget 
We haven't lost it all yet 
All we know for sure 
Is all that we are fighting for 
Baby don't forget 
We haven't lost it all yet 

Someday when this is over 
We may still have no answer 
For now it's when I hold ya 
We are closer, we are closer 
We are closer, we are closer 

Baby close your eyes 
Don't open til the morning light 
Don't ever forget 
We haven't lost it all yet 
And all we know for sure 
Is all that we are fighting for 
Baby don't forget 
We haven't lost it all yet 

We are closer 
We are closer 
(We haven't lost it all yet) 
Now we are closer 
(We haven't lost it all yet)
We are closer 


Syndicate means a group of people or organization working together to carry out a goal. The song "Syndicate" gives a feeling that it is expressing a type of love that is going cold. Though sadness is major in this song, hope is a theme that is revisited in almost every other stanza. The poem refers a lot to time. We know that time changes, but life still goes on. In a way, it is saying even if things change, you will be okay and nothing or not everything is lost. "Halfway around the world lies the one thing you want. Buried in the ground, hundreds of miles down" is referring to something that seems to be so far away and unrealistic. "First thing that arises in your mind while you awake, bending you til' you break, let me hold you now," paints the aura that hope is lost. Then after the dark phase comes a lighter touch, "Baby close your eyes, don't open til' the morning light, Baby don't forget, you haven't lost it all yet" suggests that people can still dream and hope. "Don't know what you're made of til' the one thing that you want to come in with the dawn and suddenly changes. Monday, syndicate me, it's everyone the same, but all we've lost to the flame. Listen to me now" suggests that one doesn't not know his or her strength until the risks are high. Even if the most important thing is lost and there's nothing that can be done to change it, keep hoping. "Don't ever forget we haven't lost it all yet. All we know for sure is all that we are fighting for, baby don't forget we haven't lost it all yet," says that the process of accomplishing whatever is slow and risky, but keep trying. It is also saying we don't know how to back down and we don't know how to give up because it's painful--all we know and believe in is why we are working for what we are working to get. "Someday when this is over, we may still have no answer. For now it's when I hold her, we are closer, we are closer..." is saying how the troubles are never ending (and it may not be worth fighting for), but if we hope, things will have more closure.