5 seconds to detonation

Time stands,

still, staccato

a diseased heart beating its last

all volume evacuates all sound dies-

we stare numbly into the blast

no plans no options left (real or stock)

last commute we’ll see

the radio’s gone dead

last curse and finger at the jerk who cut us off

last cell phone call to a lover who shouldn’t be

last blown kiss to the woman driving the Benz

what’s coming is the shockwave, 

the inevitable cleanse

of urban decay and human wastes

so time stands,

still, staccato

etched forever in that one moment-

in those long shadows-

gods never pondered, stories never told

the twilight of the human soul,

its terrible entwining with destiny unleashed.