it’s been a long time

since i’ve heard the universe sing to me.

the upshoots under my feet are wilted,

the air is stifling my eyes and throat,

i cannot see the flames but i hear

their crackling cackle as glass reality chips away.

i listen for birds; maybe they will lift me out;

none come.

 

the sky is empty with fire.

i wonder if dinosaurs ever felt suicidal.

if i were alive when meteors rained 

i would have thought, “well, here goes waiting

to stop wanting to die.”

they just don’t make disasters like they used to.