Inevitable Poem by Barry Middleton

one house crushed by tornado
another fallen in a cistern grave

still in others ghosts linger
can nothing of the past be saved

one town alien as youth
another foreign as the moon

still another lost in time
a beggar mumbling out a tune

a nation grown mute to grief
its spirit lost in coldest space

flag hung like a shameful head
forgotten pride is its disgrace

a flood is rising storms will blow
fire and death will fill the sky

no king absolves us with salvation
sword in hand as planets die