Polished since I first posted it in my LJ.


Chicxulub

After thirty million years
of late Cretaceous glory
thumbed and self-aware
we rose
from among our scaly
brethren beasts

A hundred thousand more
before
the speaking spark was lit
and we speared our thoughts
with sound

A handful of millennia
for us to write
our names
across the earth

A scant few centuries
to stare
with knowledge into night

A solitary month
to chart the comet's course

And dread our coming doom


* * *


From halfway round the globe
I saw the impact flash
reflected on the moon

A sudden dawn
to herald
coming darkness

And knew across the sea
a continent had died
in supersonic flame

The earth began to dance
and sway
a gentle glow suffused
the sky
from orbit molten glass
rained down
in iridescent glory

And as the waves bore up
as high as hills
to wipe us out of history

I stood beneath
their great green curl
beheld the death
of all I knew

And all that I could see
was beauty