End of Time: An Oral History

i came across

an unknown tribe

in a forest of steel

and cinder blocks

they drank parsnip soup

from police helmets

raised chickens

and purple hollyhocks

they taught me that

the cockroach emits

a piercing scream

and when Ghenhis Khan’s

head appears

not to lose my self esteem

together

we split apart

the vacuum cleaner bag

reaped the dust

for our tortilla flour

and suppressed the urge

to gag

but those odd souls

they’re gone for good

spineless yes-men

now roam the Earth

pumping blood

into the Linzer torte

hawking neck cheese

and afterbirth

they argue 

about the walrus

how his horn’s not

bony after all

but instead encased

in leathery skin

like a salami

or a football

they snap it off

watch and wait

soft liver spills

into their boots

rotten pears appear

and then burst open

inside their birthday suits

their senators

and corporate fish

have all but stopped evolving

they secrete universal acid

no bottle can hold it

and the earth

is slowly dissolving

                                                         

 

Reviews

[Ayvid N]

"soft liver spills
into their boots"

This and so many other images make this poem oh so enjoyable. I just went with the flow and loved it absolutely.

[. serah .]

-- hmmm... i majored in history in my B.A. and whenever i read about the downfall of a glorious civilization... i used to think of how survivors (when there were survivors) would actually live... -- it startles me to study my own life after it collapsed... -- but i don't see just the bleakness of all of that on this page... i see millions of metaphors merge into an allegory... which is courageously and meticulously reinforcing at least the freedom of expression... -- it's just no possible to suffer in silence... -- glad you said what you had to say...

[alanwgraham]

I really enjoyed this. I don't want to analyse it too much - just enjoy the flow of brilliant imagery.
Well done!
Would you mind having a look at my poem 'Henry Moore - shapeshifter' if you have time?
Thanks,
Alan

[...]

Parsnip soup, chickens, and hollyhocks...random, and funny, but the rest of it...not so much. There is an epidemic of "spineless yes-men" and people that can't see, won't see, and just don't give a s**t about walrus's, hollyhocks, drinkable water, love, or anything that isn't plastic or fiat or nuclear. But, who's to blame? Them? Or us for letting them, even joining them?

[poet_feefee]

Your poems make me react physically. I like this. It's not in a way that I am yearning for something I have felt before, but it is because your imagery continually presents ideas and creates reactions I have not experienced before. The word combinations are unique.

[J.P. Bristow]

This is epic! Your pen is gifted...your voice a benediction to Mithras...we'll done.

[Kenneth The Poet]

The last stanza should be on the tombstone of humanity.

[asdarkeyesclose]

'soft liver spills
into their boots'

the slowing burning revulsion that is modern life. maybe it is time to see it as it really is and hate it all the more.

[roarke]

What can you say when standing knee deep in the middle of end time species evisceration and know one else seems to notice the insanity of the narrative?????

I think this is a heroic attempt.
Bravo

[Steven]

Wow, what a travailing road... Some really fantastic imagery, and the close snaps sharp. Great write.

*loose = lose