I saw a hellish waterfall of scolding molten lava,
Titanic tectonic plates violently tearing apart,
Loose rubble tumbling down into the abyss,
Earth-shaking tremors rattling the fragile apartment blocks,
Burst fire hydrants spewing toxic sewage,
Shattered glass raining down from colossal skyscrapers,
Ancient cathedrals crumbling into piles of debris,
Telegraph poles spasming with surges of lethal electricity,
Ruptured gas pipes oozing poisonous chemicals,
Nuclear power plants exploding like volcanoes,
Broken bottles and wretched syringes strewn upon the concrete pavement,
Mobs of rioters and looters plaguing the streets,
Wreaking havoc upon the sordid boulevards,
Like a sickly virus bleeding through the city’s soul,
A cacophony of shrieking sirens and harrowing screams of terror,
Innumerable bodies plummeting to their suicide,
Exultant preachers praising the wrath of god,
Thick clouds of ash and smoke blocking out the sun,
Rolling blackouts cloaking the city in bleak smog,
Seedy hustlers and pimps parading their shameless trophies of anarchy,
Endless gunshots tormenting our haggard senses,
Broken hearted angels cowering in the squalid gutter,
Screeching cars colliding in the manic hysteria,
Dreams of spiritual redemption cast out to rot,
Besides festering piles of decaying garbage,
A litany of self-flagellating Satanists trudging downtown,
Torrential tornadoes spiralling across the dismal grey horizon,
Military hospitals crammed with injured soldiers and civilians like tinned sardines,
Derelict sewers overflowing with malodorous filth,
Scathing lashes of hailstones and thunderous lightning bolts,
Shrouded outlaws lurking eerily in darkened alleys,
And towering telephone pylons crashing down to the ground,
Littering the gloomy countryside with deadly tangles of electric wire –
O’ the tragic finale of humanities inevitable doom,
The grand pinnacle of our ravenous woebegone ways,
The climax of societies gluttonous lust for warfare and death,
The monstrous peak of our demented despair and vicious hatred,
An urban nightmare of apocalyptic carnage,
A tsunami of bitter rage and diabolical destruction,
A gauntlet of suffering and horror violating our forlorn minds,
And still,
No holy salvation in sight –
Poem by Stamos Mardou