If I’m still living, come back from
The future, and tell me how little
The lot of this meant. The empire
Fissured. A new one replaced it,
And also grew gravely sclerotic
And failed. Nobody had water.
The crops didn’t grow. All
The so-called superior animals
Perished, and you alone wandered
The planet in shock until you could
Return here, and tell me (still living)
That none of this mattered at all.