straw

just pretend for a moment
that the world was suspended by
a single golden thread
the tensile strength debatable
and the light dancing upon its near
invisible shimmer
could be concealing the
strain of a billion billion tons
and 6(?) billion human lives
pulling it beyond its limits.

yes, let's pretend
this disco ball earth's about to fall
off the roof of the sky
like caramel off the palate
dislodged by an arcing tongue
and, like the caramel,
the only way is to go down
and melt.

it's only a matter of time
before that golden thread snaps.

what to do in the meantime,
spin dizzy upon our spinning dizzy world
make as thought the grass is rushing to meet
our tumble
delay another day
the inevitable end.

who am i to see that golden thread
and if i could
if it wasn't just pretend
what would i do?

grab hold of it
as though the strength of my grip
could keep my world hanging intact
one second more?

that would be pretending.

no, i am the caramel camel
that breaks the
last straw.