Mike Zero

Mike and November,
zeroes awaiting orders
of the most vile kind.

The kind transforming
men into ash and creatures
into particles.

From soup to nuts and
around the horn, life becomes
carbon detritus.

From Alpha on up
to the grouch known as Oscar,
the keys were ready.

Five switches turned
and ten keys clicked to the
right one-quarter turn.

The Peace Garden State
was privy to a light show
of wonder and fear.

The rest of the Earth
soon followed suit. Bountiful
life no longer left.

Like its cavernous
siblings, just a remnant of
all else in blackness.

The rarity of
sentient life snuffed out
in cold cruelty.

It matters not to
the big, beastly universe
since we are so small.

And this is why the
idea of reduction
exists and persists.

And this is why Mike
Zero and the other sites
no longer thrive on.

Opinions diverge
on such contentious topics,
but the danger stays.

We are past the point
of no return, and we can't
put the genie back.

The seal was cracked,
the bottle uncorked, launched
like a Minuteman.

Three warheads pointed
at Russian targets to be
a lunar landscape.

So much for the best
of intentions because men
are the worst liars.