wormwood
from the book of revelation
hurtling through space indefinitely
it was only a matter of time
before wormwood
reached the outer edges
exploding into a colorfully
destructive rainshower
up above trumpets sounded
and incense burned
angels huddled together
compacting balls of fire
and hurling them onto earth
though many on the surface
perished from such punishment
it was wormwood
that single-handedly wiped out
a third of all living things
both on land
and on sea
and below the sea
and though dust consumed
a third of the sun’s light
supersonic blasts
broke through the haze
telegraphing without question
the worst was yet to come
october two thousand fourteen
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved