Last Man On Earth Poem by Erin Cowart

The last man on earth sat at his desk
In his little room

He looked at the dead cell phone
And the wires and trappings of a different life

He flipped the light switch up and then down
Waiting for the light that would not come

And wondered why no one thought about the fact
That you can't eat machines

As they laid dying and emaciated phones clutched in hand
Like they were the keys to the underworld

He went to the cupboard to see what was left
Emptiness was all he found, emptiness for days

And it was at this point that he threw his shoe
Through the dark screen of the computer

Because at least that sound
Shattered the silence

It had been years since he had heard something so loud
And the ringing in his ears served as a reminder that he was still alive

And somewhere in his chest
He could feel the pulse

The beating heart of humanity that longs to survive
Even in complete annihilation

He would follow that drumming out from behind his desk
And through the doors of his prison

To find that the sun was shining
And birds were singing

Breeze was blowing
And grass was growing

And he realized what others could not or would not

The world moves on
Life will find a way
It always has and always will

And as he took a seat under a shade tree
He closed his eyes and exhaled for the last time

And the passing of humanity was regarded
With as much concern as a fly on the back of a cow

A brief nuisance
Flicked into a vast eternity