Then the quiet was disturbed
EAS broadcasts
So very frightening
As electric sirens wailed
Followed by a cold voice
Telling us to take shelter
We'd forgotten about the danger
So wrapped up in minutia
Of the domestic crisis spiraling
Letting down our awareness
We learned we weren't ready
No choice but pay attention
As missile launches happen
They are caught on radar
We knew they'd strike
Falling like lightning
As warheads hit targets
Across our nation's span
A new normal would begin
One that would be very different
Than every day before
Since that day, we've waited
We've had no normal days
We stare into the sun
Blinded at last by the glare
The dead are countless
The radiation uncounted
The living envy the dead
And the world is dying
The lakes and streams dry
Oceans clouded, fetid
Crowded with dead plankton
We've nowhere to go
We'll never escape this
I wish we'd been prepared
Or that someone cared
