I look to my left, I look to my right.
I sit down on the ground.
There is dark, there is night.
There are ashes all around.
I look to the sun
But it is dead
I look to the moon
But she holds her head
Heavy with words no one wants to say.
The world ended this morning
In ways you cannot fathom
There is no where to go
No hope in this chasm
And yet a rose blooms.
A rose of hope
A flower of love
A shining beacon
A simple white dove
And I dive.
Death smells like breakfast
When you have no guts
I dive towards the gates
Before those doors become shut
But as I reach
I fall
And I lose my gall.
I sit alone once again
Staring at the carcass sun
His crying moon
And all their children
Stars gone too soon.
I throw my hands to the empty sky
I ask the bloody clouds why
This day was mine
This day to die
I weep for family
I sob for friends
My unhappiness
Will know no end
And yet there is a spark
Of deep passion
Blooming like tangled garden weeds
In the depth of my chest
Love for a heart that once was mine
Except it wasn’t my actual heart
I’m trying to be romantic
And use
A metaphor.
Yes even in the middle
Of this catastrophic riddle
I find an urge to giggle
Because all is not lost
Until all is literally lost.
I can see my hands
They’re strong and warm
In bone structure regards
They have such a nice form.
I can see my legs
All covered in soot
From the top of my pants
To the heel of my foot.
I can see my face
Because I turned my phone camera on
I look good for post end of the world
Though a bit like a shredded lawn
My eyes are chalky
Like, um, chalk
I can’t rhyme that well
But don’t you balk
Because this is my story
And you chose to read
No one else
Made you do this deed.
Where was I then?
Oh yeah, I was in love
With the legs and the hands
And the sparkly glitter dove.
Right so I know now
That I have courage and crap
I have confidence and yeah
I’m a jolly old chap.
So back to my metaphors
Back to my similies
Back to my blah blah
About all this villainy
Cause yeah the world ended
But come on folks
Nobody pretended
That folks were immortal
That our Rome wouldn’t fall
So what did you expect
That we would just all
Survive the crashes
The breaks and the falls
The storms and the plagues
And the hornets and all?
Hey, yeah, no
But guess what?
I’m still here
So get out of that rut
And listen to my rhyme
About the guys I love the most.
Yeah, you heard it
Yes it’s true
Some girls like one guy
I like two
One’s named Ben
The other Jerry
They’re so smooth
Never hairy
And another thing about them
They'll never be friend zoned
The way I like them best
Is soft served in a cone
They may be dead
But in my head
Our late nights
Home stays
Never go away
Yeah and if I find them
That’ll make my day
They’re pretty sweet
To say the least
Some boys are snacks
But they’re a feast.
They just melt
If you’re too hot
Stir that sugar
In the pot
I like them
A lot a lot
This is love
We’re getting married
In the parlor
No one tarried
To my wedding
Don’t be late
Here we eat ice cream
None of that cake.
Ben and Jerry
Frozen soulmates
Sitting in the
Now broken store
Ben and Jerry
In a carton
Peering out
The fridge’s door
Gotta save them
Can’t hurry enough
This day’s already
Been bad enough
I have to get around these bodies
The clerks the jerks
The folks with Audi’s
Now death smells like
Porta potties
I round the corner
See the store
I take two steps
Then one leap more
Almost to the
Aisle floor
Hands are sweating
Heart is jumping
I’m so nervous
Blood is pumping
Pulling out my wallet
Checking my debit card
If I can’t get my dairy
The apocalypse bouta get hard.
No one else is in this store
I’m the only one so bold
Well, it could be that
Or everyone else is just too cold
By cold I mean dead
Like stone cold gone
No amount of money can save you
No brains over brawn.
In this situation
You’re out or you’re in
Doesn’t matter who you are
Who you’ll be or you’ve been
The end of the world won’t judge
Between the boys and men.
Here I am
After the fact
So close to the affection
That I have sorely lacked
Thirteen tubs of ice cream
All stamped with Ben and Jerry
I almost faint in relief
Without them my life is scary.
Never mind the zombies
Chasing up the street
Who needs to walk when I can fly
When I have food to eat
Look, yes, I was deprimed
My livelihood stolen
The apocalypse took a lot
But dude, I still am rolling
No one can take me
No one can break me
I am the queen of the land
With a smile on my face
And a couch underneath
I’ve got a scoop in my hand.
Meteors come
Hurricanes go
Governments fall
And tornadoes blow
The sun’s funeral is on Monday
The moon will be wearing black
But I’m living in the present
Cause I can’t bring that back.
Am I sad I will die soon
Or live alone forever
Yeah but also I have hope
And I never do say never
Like the small rodent
That famous Beaver
I will sing to my baby now
This sweet two dollar carton
Is gold from heaven’s cows.
The world may fade
I may not see old age
But that’s the next chapter
I’m still on this page.
I had a goal
And I did it!
I showed my pain
While they hid it.
And though I hate
To admit it
I may go back for more.
My ever continuing
Never diminishing
Post apocalyptic thrilling chase.
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40 comments
So I hope you guys aren't lactose intolerant. :) cause this poem was cheesy.
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I think it was cool 🍦:) I absolutely love poetry and have a journal that I write in whenever can. I loved this so much Rhondalise — it was the perfect blend of hilarious giggles and beautiful metaphors swirled into one delicious scoop — awesome work! I hope I'll find the confidence to incorporate my poetry into a story though it's probably won't be as lyrical as yours.
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I'm sure it's beautiful! Thank you for reading, R.K!
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Haha I actually love cheese. Just soaking it in. I’m a poet too, and I love how you write your stories/poems. :)
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I love cheese too, obviously. And yay, fellow poets unite!
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oh no I am lactose intolerant but I'm risking it for this awesome read! A good mix of humour and haunting - well done. :)
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HOW ARE YOU SUCH A GOOD POETESS?!?! Like, anytime I write poems, they’re this 100-word thing that sucks. This is amazing and STAYS amazing all 1,000 words! This ‘story’ is such a creative way to capture the prompt...and god, you wrote it fast. Spectacular read, Rhondalise! Keep writing! P. S. I just posted my first story! I’m super excited. Could you pop on over and check it out? Thanks!
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This put a genuine smile on my face, and made me laugh! Thanks so much for that! You are so talented as both a writer and poet, I hope you go far. Great job!
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Thanks so much, Cal! <3
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So beautifully written 💗💜 also enjoy good darkstory 😁
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woah... beautiful poem.. loved it!!
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I laughed at this!!
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Ben and Jerry's, the superior post-apocalypse weapon. I'm not a poetry person at all but there's something about your poems that are so funny and interesting to read. And you seriously got me there with the "Ben and Jerry" joke, and with your title being "Apocolype and Chill"...boy did I GET THE WRONG IDEA. Fun story though, great job!
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Haha I was hoping someone might be a little tripped up by the title and the ben and jerry thing, yeah, so I'm thrilled to hear you liked it and I will most definitely be swinging by later to comment on your stories. I liked them all but didn't get a chance to read most of them. I love your bio, so cute, and the downvoting thing I can explain. So basically if you look next to your name when you write a comment, you can see like a tiny up arrow and a tiny down arrow and people can give you points (to move up on the leaderboard) or they can tak...
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Oooooooh! I noticed those little arrows. Well now you can be on the lookout for a heck of a lot of upvotes!
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Dang, why are you guys so talented? A writer, now a poet - I wish I could do both. My poetic abilities are...let's not talk about that, shall we? Great story (what else is new?). Waiting for your next story! P.S. Mind checking out my latest story? Thanks! ~Adrienne~
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Whoa, this was good! I really love all of your poetry. It's always amazing! Great job!
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I haven't actually seen a poetry submission on this site before, so your submission was such a wonderful one to read! I love the consistent rhythm you've achieved, as well as the unique way you approached this prompt. I don't think I would usually associate "poetry" with "thriller" and yet you've accomplished just that. I'm excited to read more of your work!
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Thank you so very much, Lina! If you liked this poem feel free to check out some of my other ones too. :)
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I will definitely do that! Thanks for liking my stories; I really appreciate it! :)
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I loved how blatantly funny this was; it made me laugh and I enjoyed it just as much as all the serious stories on this website. Great job! If you can, I would love for you to read my submission (or submissions; I might post another one soon) and give me feedback. Only if you want to though :)
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Hi 🙋♂️ rhondalise. Liked the story a lot. Are you getting downvoted ? Would you mind reading my new story
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I love this SO much Rhondalise. So much. It made me smile and think and **sigh**, it was just amazing.
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It's my way of contributing to happiness during the pandemic, glad you liked it!
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Wow! I like this new style, Rhondalise. I simply love poems and no, it wasn't cheesy:) Good job
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Amazing! The way it flowed, just loved it!
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I thought I was the only person on Reedsy who wrote in verse, and now I know I'm not alone! This is amazing, all the talk about the sun and. the moon made me think about the world in a different way... Writing this on the day of the weird planet alignment, BTW. Could you read my verse-story collection? It starts with "Chocolate Kisses" and ends with "John's Tale". I'm gonna write some more that aren't a part of that series, but since people are cheering for more I'll write a new installment soon. Thanks for submitting this!
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Yes! You are definitely not alone in writing in verse! I love that you do it too, that's so cool! I will absolutely check out your stories when I get a chance. I'm running around with all these holidays coming up! Of course I'm not physically running... Or actually leaving the house. COVID doesn't stop for Christmas or anyother holiday :(
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Sighs... Wished it would go away by easter. Then summer. Then thanksgiving. Then Christmas... But alas, it's still here. Reading Reedsy submissions is one of my only entertainment sources, since I'm pretty sure that I outwatched Netflix.
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have you watched dash and lily??
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No, I don't think so. What's it about??
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This is so good! Funny, clever, unexpected! I think it would be a better fit for post-apocalyptic romance, instead of thriller. But damn, this is good.
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This is so good! I love your poetry, Rhondalise. I really missed reading it and reading it again after like two months made me so happy omg!
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Enjoyed it. Made me chuckle with the insanity of a apocalypse. Far out read.
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Beautiful poem, too good for words.
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