After After

With remnants of mankind’s existence corroding His lighting extinguished, his concrete eroding The birds and the beasts have reconquered his space Those same birds and beasts have forgotten his face The forests, once dwindled, have burgeoned once more Oak, elm and ash rupture old asphalt floor Long vacant dwellings, now caves, dens and lairs For ground dwelling mammals while bats live upstairs The rivers all sparkle, their waters so clear And large rusting pipes discharge nothing to fear Waves tickle beaches, the breeze is their breath With no evil lurking at periscope depth Life springs abundant by land, sea and sky Unhindered by species who weren’t meant to fly Trees brightly clad in gold, russet and green Alas, man cannot see how things could have been And so all seems well but there’s still need of prayer There’s horror to come from a long way… up there This world, free at last, of man’s lethal know how Could sure use a serving of man’s knowledge now Unserviced and rusting, the launchers stand bare No human stands ready; no missile sits there Mankind had known that the space rock would come And man would have nuked it… but he’s gone: Ho hum!