The Man in the Mask

The world as we've known it now ends
Disappointingly. No missiles fly. No marines
Storm the beach. Someone comes. He is
Masked next to me in the ambulance, telling
Me, “Breathe,” and I try, but I can't. All you
Kids are at home, unemployed, kept away.
You can call, and you do. You'll go broke
As I strangle. I smile for your pictures, and hope
That you realize I'm just somebody who'll
Die fairly soon, and then clog up the morgue
As your car's repossessed, as your home's
Wrenched away. I wish I could stay here to help,
But I can't. If anything I've saved retains any value,
Then use it, goddam it! Take care to survive.
The world as we've known it is ending, but,
Afterward, there will be other things you'll
Have to face. Be unyielding. Be savage.
Don't think about me. Think about those
Who'll still be alive.



Poetry by Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 59 times
Written on 2020-03-21 at 15:10

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