I'm standing with my family,

and friends smiling and laughing.

Bright and sunny in a beautiful sanctuary,

we have fun reminiscing of the good times.

Soothing and warm with a taste of sweetness,

we enjoy the world in its magnificent beauty.

Seeing the world in its quintessence as it was meant,

its true form in-tampered, untainted, pristine.

With such happiness and hope building up,

it becomes utterly impossible to contain it all.

I close my eyes to take a deep breath,

horror comes as I open my eyes in disbelief.

Colors and light that were once so warm,

in an instant became cold, bleak, and gray.

My family and friends that once surrounded me,

are replaced by figures of dust and ash.

The flora and fauna that covered the Earth,

is now a flat expanse of barren, gray land.

I try to touch one of the figures around me,

but as I do they all collapse into heaps.

There is no sound, no scent, no taste at all;

I hear nothing, smell nothing, and taste nothing.

I feel the wind come and blow the heaps away,

But I can't hear it, smell it, or taste it as it blows.

I carefully look around searching for anything,

finding nothing but the gray Earth and sky.

Sorrow and despair fill every inch of my being,

and tears begin to flow as if they will never stop.

My body begins to feel cold, numb, and empty;

I feel nothing but sorrow, despair, and the ground.

My strength wanes and my legs weaken and shake,

I crumple to the ground into a very small ball.

Lying helpless as can be I begin losing all hope,

I lie with no more tears left feeling the Earth tremble.

The sky turns black as the Earth begins to shatter;

I lie prone, unconcerned because I am empty inside.

Everything crumbles away falling into the darkness,

I still lie in the same place floating in nothingness.

I sense the wind coming toward me as I lose all hope;

and as it hits me, I become nothing but dust in the wind.