end of the cataclysm by Puma Perl

despite the cataclysmic visions
the end was quiet
we were not overtaken by tsunamis
the roads between us did not flood or burst into flame

it ended just as it began
watching the same movie
drinking the Zanzibar coffee
stirring the creamer
throwing out the cottage cheese
the healing stones will rest against another bruised back
someone will live in the building across the way and watch
someone else lean out the window to smoke non-filtered cigarettes
Dexter will gaze down from the wall and listen
to Lee Morgan as he remembers Ceora
and it will all be very quiet

it all ends in profile
with the sound turned off
it is as quiet as we were in those abandoned buildings
young and junk beautiful
when the skies ran through us
we knew only what we wanted and how to get more

only the endings that I initiate surprise me
others give themselves away faster than I do
an intake of breath
a change in inflection
my name sounding different on their lips
fading, evaporating like the air
in those broken windows on second street

this morning angels danced
across an orange sky
leaning to the left
I saw it was only the sun

masked in black smoke
no magic involved at all
and as the light took over
it all just disappeared

Puma Perl, New York, USA