the semi-colon is a poignant reminder of that which we call life. it is a black and white still-shot of a dead puppy run over by a car, the beautiful asymmetry of its limbs splayed and bloodied even as a child cries over its shattered body. and, as it raises its head once more to lick at the hand of its owner, the child watches the little puppy’s life extinguish itself. and the child, realising the futility of grief in the face of such overwhelming nihilism, stops weeping forever.