After Me, Annihilation by Eileen Murphy

After Me, Annihilation
—Remark attributed to Louis XVI, implying he didn’t care about consequences since he’d be dead.

When I heard about
The next world war
I stuck a stone in my backpack, a stolen star.

I tried to unplug
My electric sheep.
I wore pink lipstick, I paid to cheat.

I baked in a bunker
Buried in my dress
As hot birds flew bombs north by northwest.

I walked crooked streets
In my high heels.
I saw no other people for ten thousand miles.

I slept with an old sock;
I ate a moral pear.
In a dark car I was washing my hair

In ashes & Dove
When a ‘bot knocked on the door
& said, Have you heard? We finally won the war.

by Eileen Murphy

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Editor’s Note: The uneven rhymes and clever references give this poem a rich history that many readers will appreciate. However, the poem also functions without any footnotes–the disturbing imagery carries emotional resonance.