The Death of Manhattan

Part 1: The Day Before the End

A warm, perfect, beautiful day:
Very nice beneath the sun’s ray.
Many children out to play ball;
Running, jumping until they fall.

I watch and look out the glass;
At all the kids upon my grass.
Their mothers yell, which makes the kids run;
For now their mom’s have ruined their fun.

I watch and think “they meant no harm”;
While the parents grab for an arm.
The kids are dragged home to bed;
No one knows of the dread ahead.

Part 2: All Gone

I awake to a banging and yelling at my door;
“Wake up! Look out at all the horror!”
I look out the window at everyone screaming;
The sky is purple, I feel like I’m dreaming.

I pull on my coat and rush down the stairs;
Everyone is running like kids at a fair.
I step outside, and look up at the sky;
Then I realize we’re all going to die.

No clocks are working, nobody knows the time;
Yet we know we could be gone on the drop of a dime;
People are running, screaming, praying, wondering why;
Many are just laying down, waiting to die.

The Earth is shaking and moving around;
I feel something behind, so I turn and look down.
There stands a small girl, and she says with a yawn;
“Go back to sleep, for we are all gone.”