This is the way
the world ends.
Not with a whimper but with
that old-time religion standard
“Amazing Grace” played
on an accordion, a gun
nudged between one
shoulder blade from behind
as the band plays on and
the people march and
chant though no one is listening.
Later they will use their cardboard signs
to light a fire, keep warm,
as spring refuses to part
from winter, the gray clouds
rolling out quietly over the lake.
