After the End

At the end
everything that ever was
ceased to be
It had been a long time coming
There was no one to notice
No one to mourn
The sky finally turned black
A darkness so complete
and pure that has never
been witnessed
All the stars had died
and what planets remained
were being consumed
by the black hole
at the center of the universe
Finally after the last morsel
of matter fell into the void
a final silence overwhelmed
It was as though nothing
had ever existed
As though nothing
would ever exist again
And after an interminable
amount of time
something stirred
This stirring
vibrated and pushed
the condensed matter
Quickly
it was though
energy was filling
all the spaces it had once
called home
And everything
began again

The Great Desert

The End
will come and
be far quieter
than anyone
in our time
would imagine.
Our cities
will have long been
reduced to dust,
our species
forgotten by the passing
epochs. The End
will be nothing more
than the shriveling
of leaves of the last
remaining plant.
Only then,
with the world
barren at last,
will everything
be silent,
ready for
another start,
in another way,
in another time.