It couldn’t get any worse

we thought it couldn’t get any worse

hunger and poverty were everywhere

food was scarce

money was obsolete

barter beg

whatever it took

to survive

the world that remained

after civilization

had been crushed

beneath

the unyielding fist

of ignorance

hatred

greed

war;

and then the sky fell

puzzle pieces

of kaleidoscopic light

drifting toward

the devastated landscapes

around us;

we looked up

and thought fairies

or angels

or even

aliens

had come to end our suffering;

and then the sky fractured

shattering

like a cracked mirror

reflecting

the ugliness below

and we understood,

the death of all

we knew

was imminent--

how foolish we were to think

it couldn’t get any worse.