Not Much Of An Ending


The end of days
is the ash covering
the psyche of those
who look up at the sky
waiting for it to fall.

_______________________________

Growing up cold war
taught me to sit
in the hall with
my head between my knees
while I watched my friends
shut the door on the fallout shelter.

I didn’t do that this time.
I grabbed a lawn chair,
a video camera, and a six pack
to watch all hell break loose.

Wasn’t much to it.
It was more like a wet
fourth of July when
only half the fireworks
were able to reach the sky.

Those aliens who came
looking for specimens
of human higher intelligence
didn’t care much for those
survivalist Bubba Joe’s.

They packed up their
saucers without a goodbye
and burnt the ground
getting the hell back
to whatever galaxy
they dropped out of.

Once the sky cleared
all I could hear was
the neighbor complaining
about how he would have
to eat peas for the next
three years.

So much for Mayan predictions,
guess I am going to have
to get my driver’s license renewed.

©Susie Clevenger 2012

Written for Real Toad's Out Of Standard With Izy



Comments

Isadora Gruye said…
Clever commentary here Susie. Funny and a happy ending to boot. Yes, and we will all need to renew our drivers license, even after 12/22/12......great to see your work posting on my prompt. Happy Thursday!
Lessandra said…
This is funny - and it's interesting how you can look back and see the sky is falling when you were a kid - just as now, the sky is falling again!
Kerry O'Connor said…
I love the opening stanza, set aside a bit from the remainder of the poem. You told the story with a wry wit. I found it very amusing that our invaders found little of worth here and left us to a questionable survival.
Daydreamertoo said…
Haha... That IS funny!
They found us so uncivilised, they ran the other way. Too funny.
Mary said…
Ya, I remember sitting in the hall with head between knees too; and now, when I look back..I think how silly. What a futile gesture, but we were all fooled, weren't we? In the light of all that can happen now, the cold war was a piece of cake. And, ya, get the drivers' license renewed...and it is undoubtedly safe to buy green bananas. I enjoyed this.
Kay L. Davies said…
Good stuff, Susie. Made me laugh. The alien equivalent of "Beam me up, Scotty, there's no intelligent life down here" and I loved the neighbor complaining about three years of eating peas.
K
Brian Miller said…
haha yeah you might want to get it renewed...too funny...i am def intersted in what will happen year end...there will surely be those that put off doing things just in case, some fun in this ma'am
Sherry Blue Sky said…
Susie, I love you. This was so much fun to read...love the laconic tone and yes, I'd be right there with you, watching the whole thing....in fact, my poem runs along somewhat the same line. I woke up this morning with it in my head, couldnt think of anything last night.
Ben Ditty said…
I also need to get mine renewed a few days before the Mayan apocalypse ;-)

Loved the way your experience echoed through this poem.
Margaret said…
...and life goes on after all!
Mystic_Mom said…
BAhahaha this totally rocks! I LOVE it!
Helen said…
I would grab myself a chair, pull it right up beside you.
I would bring a bottle of fine wine (you could keep your beer) ...
Wouldn't it be great fun?
Hannah said…
Love that you used aliens and that they weren't interested in our "intelligence," lol!! Well done, Susie!!
Maude Lynn said…
This is funny, smart, and perfect!
Anonymous said…
i like the nostalgia and humor in this

http://zongrik.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/foam/
Dick Jones said…
This is terrific - wry, laconic and wise too. Love it.