i used to think that the world would end with a bang—
a nuclear explosion when we least expect it
a glorious crash and in an instant—quiet
a collective destruction
if the doom and gloom were particularly strong that day
i’d think to myself silently, is it today?
waking up at 6 a.m. to a gray sky, all encompassing
and feeling vibrations shake my home—is it today?
but it was only thunder this time
the clouds saying “gotcha”
i was naive
i know now—hold for the grief—that the world will end in a hush
one heavy-handed blow after another
the sea will rise and swallow us but not overnight
no
the angry volcanoes will have their revenge
the hurricanes will show off their god-like strength
and the floods will sweep us away like we were nothing
fire will rage through the places where our children grew
and leave emptiness in their wake
the power of it all. do you think about it?
and we have the audacity to ignore our precious mortality
like we and the earth are separate entities, somehow
the ocean moans and i hurt with her
it will be a slow killing
a stab at our ego
like a mockery—our planet getting back at us
the ultimate purge
that a human would end it all—this whole thing—what a human thing to think
