Running Out of Time

By Lily Kim Besaw

Tomorrow, I hope.
I hope the smoke clears.
The smoke that hangs heavy over the horizon,
Blanketing everything.
The smoke that is a mere whisper for some, 
A slight brush in the back of their mind.
But for others,
It’s a python.

Wrapping itself tighter and tighter,
As you search for an exit. 
Coughing and choking as it fills your lungs.
Burrowing deeper and deeper, 
Ensnaring everything in its stifling grasp.  
Until it’s easier to just,
Close your eyes,
And drift away.

Far, far away,
Up through the clouds, 
To the land where empty promises are fed, 
From golden spoons, 
And lies are spun out of silk.      
Where cameras flash brighter than the scorching sun, 
And smiles stretch wider than the swelling seas.  
Dollar bills piling higher than the corpses,
Laughter ringing louder than the howling wind. 
And you’ll be laughing till the last second,
Won’t you?
 
Till the waves chase a crowd to your front gate. 
Laughing as they pound on your door, 
The tide nipping at their heels. 
But laughter won’t mask the screams, 
And smiles won’t save you. 

Tomorrow I hope the flames are extinguished,
The blood-red flames that rage day and night. 
A blurry image on a screen,
Or the reality just outside your window. 
As you gather your life,
Into a backpack. 
Watching as the fire of inaction,
Reduces all your memories, 
To a pile of ash. 

Then they turn around,
And say we have time.
As the last grains of sand,
Trickle to the bottom of the hourglass. 
Until we finally look up,
And realize we are exactly,
Where we were yesterday. 
But time is one thing that we cannot buy. 
Because unlike you,
The clocks can’t be bribed. 

So look me in the eye and tell me,
How many more of our own,
Will we sacrifice? 
How many more will have to die,
For you to decide that the time is finally right,
To act?