What Will Remain

Originally posted January 30, 2024. An older poem I first wrote in the late 2010s. Revisions were made to the enjambments, word choice, and a title change. Original title was 'legacy'.

Photo by jean wimmerlin on Unsplash

What will remain when humanity is gone is nothing. 
Whether it be by strangers beyond stars far from our reach, 
the sun fizzling out and being swallowed by darkness, 
the hypothetical asteroid that turns out not to be so hypothetical, 
or by typical human made folly through war  
over the deadly sins, Humanity will be gone.

Nothing will then walk and explore 
because there is only nothing to stop it. 
Nothing will remember how long it took 
for humanity to gain a foothold on the planet—
that by then will become nameless. 
Nothing will remember our legacy 
through planes that will remain motionless,
cars that will remain parked for eternity. 
Time will be irrelevant because nothing won’t 
understand. The absence of everything is tinnitus 
to nothing. It is not effected. We are.

This day draws closer.
The year draws closer. The moment closer. 
The realization made aware to us within 
the first few seconds of consciousness
when we open our eyes to grant ourselves vision 
but we must breathe every second to keep nothing away. 
It’s closer than we think however, like the absence 
of pencil marks on white paper when brainstorming 
ideas for the next Shakespearean explosion 
free of inspiration and full of originality.

So take in a calm breath and keep it close 
to your soul. For what we have now,
amongst ourselves and each other, is 
beyond satisfactory to satiate 
the leaky-like faucet drawl
in the back of the skeletal dome
on what transpires in the nothing
with our sights behind shut eyelids,
the missed birthday party,
a cancelled date with 'the one',
or the argument behind a neighbor's closed door.

Don't allow the grey matter to fire off neurons 
for scenarios that far exceed human life expectancy
but pay heed to the heart that slows down blood flow
for moments so close, we'd swear they were
invading every possible crevice available
like carcinogenics in a smoking session.

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