The End of The World

by Arden McLean

Maybe the end of the world
isn’t in the headlines
of the newspapers that are ignored.

Maybe it’s silent,
soft and unspoken, a secret
that we promised to keep
when we don’t even know what it means.

Maybe the end of the world
isn’t destruction,
but distraction.

Maybe it’s when we all start looking down
instead of out
and choose comfort over action,
keeping our mouths shut
because it’s easier.

Maybe it’s when we have a new definition for safety,
when we believe that the only way to stay safe
is to stay hidden,
to choke back the truth
and poison our mouths with lies.

Maybe it’s when change becomes the villain
because everything should stay as it is,
because the silence that we once feared
is now too fragile to be touched-

and we are robbed of our words and thoughts
and our minds go blank
and the things that we treasure the most
become useless,
nothing.

Maybe that’s when the world ends.