after the end in poetry

they tried to break the seals
the seals were broken instead
they rooted for their raptures
but mostly just ended up dead
they wanted kings and gods
they lost a few close friends
that’s how apocalypse goes when
we’re already after the end

they wanted ice they wanted fire
they ordered Nagasaki a la mode
they wanted riots in the streets
wanted shortwave Russian codes
they wanted castles in the sky
just got potholes in the roads
that’s how apocalypse goes when
we’re already after the end

it’s a hell of a thing
burning down what you can’t have
it’s a hell of a thing
calling sour what you can’t grab
it’s a hell of a thing
hoping that some lab cooks up a
plague to kill those heathens off
but then you’re the first to cough

they want to burn up every tree
with the grace to sway and bend
they want to curse the social news
but they want their curse to trend
they want to tell you what is real
while they still get to go pretend
but that’s how apocalypse goes when
we’re already so long after the end

Last updated June 17, 2021