The Third World War started and nobody noticed. There was no echo in the sky of Big Guns. No trenches, or shovelled up bits of bodies, mixed with rain soaked clay, banked up, to protect the living, pointing to God knows where. There was no drone of bombers, or the whine of a plane dropping off from formation and then cruel silence.
The perfume of mahonia hung heavy and sweet on the tongue and under whelmed the senses, as it flowered earlier and earlier, to attract bees that never came. Verticullum wilt hit the catalpa hardest and turned trees to wood pulp. There was only the played out sound of the land ice sheets splashing into the sea that nobody was close enough to touch.
As the Pampas turned to dust in the stratosphere the Tyndall glacier grew anorexic and disappeared. 26 000 in Malé were the first in the Maldives to wave good bye to summer. The Yangtse, Mekong, Yellow, Indus and Ganges swelled into seas, but there was no water to drink.
Greenland became subAntartica and dipped into the sea. Acidity picked apart coral reefs, a bit at a time, as water vapour warming produced, the ugly equation, of water vapour warming. Bangladesh, of course, disappeared without a fight.
Way back in the US, Glacier Park had to be renamed, and as they watched on live television iconic images of polar bears circling in the sea, like a child with a water wing on one arm, they carelessly lost Florida and another three stars from the flag. Food was scarce, but was balanced by drought. State militias were mobilised, with rifles pointing at the sky.
Comments
lenchenelf | March 17, 2009 - 22:32
'State militias were mobilised, with rifles pointing at the sky.' ouch! razorwire humour, atb L
threeleafshamrock | March 17, 2009 - 23:15
Brilliant! Simple as that!
Chris
Ewan | March 18, 2009 - 07:47
I liked this enormously; however, is something missing here:
'images of polar circling the sea,'?
Regards
Ewan
celticman | March 18, 2009 - 08:37
Thanks, as always, Lenchenelf (what does that name signify?) and Chris, for your encouragement. Sorry Ewan, well spotted, big red marker pen. I've corrected my mistake. (Well one of them.)
lenchenelf | March 18, 2009 - 09:07
It signifies ascribed life in the diminuitive :-) I see you are the victim of a "Drive by fruiting" (Robin Williams) well done :-)
jennifer | March 18, 2009 - 13:07
food was scare or scarce?
Superb write, very factual and cold, very good.
J x
celticman | March 18, 2009 - 18:17
thank you little one lechenelf and thank you jennifer (I'll change that).
Dynamaso | March 19, 2009 - 01:27
The most chilling part about this is that it could very well come true in the future. This is very matter-of-fact and will stay with me for at least the rest of today. Well done.
a.jay | March 19, 2009 - 07:46
right up my alley, love it.
as brilliant as the last line is i'd be more than happy to continue..any plans?
celticman | March 19, 2009 - 14:59
Hey Dynamaso, thanks for your encouragement. And, of course, it's true. All my stories are true. Ajay, you batter on and add to it. I'm finished with this and you know more words than me. I've other plans. but I don't know what they are!
purplelionness | May 21, 2009 - 15:23
Love it, it's soo refreshing to read poem with an important message to deliver
L. Gebrakedan
rl murdoch | June 25, 2009 - 18:46
Great insight. Great way to make a point. Great story.
celticman | June 25, 2009 - 21:30
cheers, rl murdoch
Miss_D_Meaner | September 27, 2009 - 23:04
...lost another three stars from the flag....
Scary thoughts that all the above might/will happen - this is a really really good story.
celticman | September 28, 2009 - 07:03
Yes, that's me in apocalyptic mode. Thanks for reading and saying you liked it.