The sky lit up with the streaking fiery tails of

Incoming missiles announcing the day we

All knew would come but chose to ignore.

A flash of blinding white light as the

Earth belched out rings of heat that

Caused eyes to melt and towns to 

Spontaneously combust.

We found ourselves standing in a

Crowd of people – Chinese, Russian, American – 

People of all ages, shapes and sizes, all naked,

All stunned, all in a strange place where

Shadows played against walls of granite

And a soft grey mist covered the land

As far as one could see. Millions of us, waiting

The searing white light that had transported us

Here appeared dull in our memories in 

Comparison to the colossal figure before us

That had only the ever-shifting form of fire.

He swung an incense burner with his left hand

It’s coals glowing red-hot, puffs of black smoke

Drifting over us. He reached into the firepot, 

Grasping a handful of coals, holding them for 

A moment or two as he looked out over the crowd.

Without flinching, he crumbled the coals with his

Bare hand, sowed them aloft, and blew 

The airborne embers over us.

It rained a torrent of tiny specks of fire, but,

As they landed on our naked bodies, the 

Resultant pain was more relief than 

Torture. We understood one another’s

Languages; no one was a stranger, we 

Suddenly knew and cared for each other, and,

As the embers faded, strange ethereal music

Rose to a crescendo, as the mist dissipated,

And all the world erupted in bird-song and flowers

And we danced together and laughed with

Animals that spoke and mountains that sang.