Sorry, Honey

after “Direct Hit” by Aimee Nicole

by Holly Genovese

Do we all live in the eye (or I) of the storm now? Toto, never again in KansasThe burning Texas heat–104, 107, 110 upwards upwards we go. Cloying, fainting, gulping, Water-the only relief, a finite resource Is the world on fire?where in the world is not on fire?We watch as we burn burn burn How do we prepare for the end of the world?
Sorry, honey. We didn’t.
What was it like before I knew about power grids, about fires, about airborne diseases? I can’t recall, really. Bread and milk won’t save us now. But maybe they could have What if everybody had bread and milk? Would we still be Burning Freezing In the dark Inhaling fumes, inhaling deathA deadly disease and the death of the world.

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Featured in our August 2023 issue, "Ekphrasis"

Click to explore the rest of the Neighbor 2023 issue