"Non-Aquatic Apes"

a snarl of gnats standing
in the still, late afternoon air

wooden spaceships grown in space
breakfast at McDonald's
burnt umber
in artificial dusk
delusions holding strong
the war proceeding
people turned out of their homes
by the thousands

and one less
who wrote & was writing
to the end

let the seas rise
let the storms pummel
let only our highways persist
year by year
as the towers tatter & tumble

suppose i root for the orangutans instead
suppose for the orcas
for the sequoias

the watch abandoned
the record
aborted

an hour of sleep
who needs more than that