#413
That Is, The End
Eternity awaits us,
Three seconds from now,
Awaits us all,
And Peaches the Cow;
Chester the Oak
And Farsight the Eagle,
Dimples the Donkey
And Backyard the Beagle.
Peaches stands placid
In the midst of her field;
I tremble in terror
At this megaton yield.
Last night I watched
As the fiery orange sun
Slipped behind trees
For its usual night run.
How could it all
Come into seeming;
When will it leave
With only God being?
I changed "minutes" to "seconds" because, as I was going into the restroom at the Richmond theater last week, a very small, very young lad held the very heavy door for me. I asked him if he was staying in or coming out, as I took over the door. He said "staying in," as his dad and brother were still in there. He immediately reminded me of what was lost in New Town recently, and I thought "three minutes" was too long for this image. I can still see the little boy looking up at me through his big black-rimmed glasses and giving serious thought to the question. Going in I passed his dad coming out; he had heard his son and had a big proud smile on his face. We nodded. Three seconds.