A doomsday prophet proclaims
the end of the world is coming,
and I think yes, but not yet.

Of course the evolution
of earth’s lifetime will result
in destruction, still – not yet.

 I haven’t filled my dance card,
kissed enough toads,
or journeyed into a mystical
afterlife some religions promise.

 Of course the end will come,
quietly or forcefully.
We are just not privy
to its timeline or method.

 Even those in their last moments
are thinking not yet, but maybe soon.
We are all somewhere
along the meanwhile
waiting to find out
what it’s like
in another universe.

 Laura Bayless
January 2019