“The Day the Bombs Fall”

On the day the bombs fall,

Will you be sitting on your couch,

doom-scrolling, streaming, disconnected?

As humanity takes its last breath,

So that Gaia can take a refreshing gasp.

The virus that is humanity, no longer rampant.

On the day the bombs fall,

Will you call the ones you love?

Sharing, forgiving, fondly remembering?

Tears streaming down your face,

A chimera of joyous laughter and despair.

The light of all that we once were, snuffed out.

On the day the bombs fall,

Will you reflect on your wrongdoings?

Grieving, reckoning, soul-searching?

Wishing you’d grown while you were alive?

Looking back on the pain you caused?

Now look at you, look at us, gone… yet how we lived matters.

So tomorrow, when there are no bombs,

Will you purchase responsibly?

With empathy, growth, and community,

Guiding your treatment of all things?

Building a better world where all can thrive,

Or will you continue on as you always have?

Tomorrow, when our own military is still on our streets,

Will you speak up

Denying, Defending, Deposing?

Standing up for what’s right and just?

For laws are not always based on morality.

Or will you be complicit as families are violently displaced?

Tomorrow. When there are no bombs. For now.

Will you wake up, or stay comfortable in your fog—

-Art and Poem by Gemma Ortwerth