I.
when the world ended, it
ended in flames, a wild
inferno dancing, swallowing,
devouring paper-card cities
until ash fell like snowflakes from
the desolate sky.

II.
after the ash settled, Pompeii recreated, the
people waited. walking corpses, ghosts of
survivors, they waited for redemption, for
purpose for someone to tell them why. a
tragedy without meaning is just a tragedy
after all. after all the blood and destruction,
there had to be a why.

III.
the angels came and praise felt hollow, cracked and
chapped hallelujahs tripping off their lips like kamikaze
pilots. divine beings could not reverse the past and had
no words from God. the people - walking corpses now
savage animals, blind dogs biting the hands of those who
come near - ripped the wings from their backs and saw that
even angels bleed.

VI.
the cities had fallen, the
fallen angels were dead, the
dead were left to rot
and
humanity felt
empty.