When Earth Is No Longer…
by Odin Roark

It will be seen,
By whom or whatever takes up the baton,
This race of fate against time.

Fiery expression will accompany the ashen dissolution,
The presence of matter's impervious reality
Will unsettle the stars in this final lap,
As denial falls behind,
The great unknown surging ahead.

How resonant the spectacle of time rushing forward,
Concussive with voluminous asterisks and dashes,
Taunting an untiring cosmos
With final punctuations via ink,
Voice, digital formulae,
And struggling language yet to be spoken,
All converging as astral junk into the ethereal attic,
Merely history and echoes of what once was.

Yes…

The universe will weep at this latest iteration of failure,
This continuous recycling of existence,
Where the absorption of mistakes made,
Aspirations made impotent,
Purity quashed by greed,
Will float about as perceptive lessons unlearned,
Mere dust, ice crystals and vaporous remains of defeat,
Another spectacle soon forgotten,
Another race with only exhaustion as a finish line.

How patient eternity’s generosity,
Its epiphanous gift of evolution
Asking only that mankind hold steadfast its consciousness,
Pass the generative baton to juncture’s waiting hand,
Respect Nature, love one another by preserving love of self,
And finally accepting extinction as omnipresent
When earth is no longer… our friend.