Shannon Lippert
In Between Endings
The first time the world ended, I was almost 12
and later, my dad would tell me, it was the day I learned
that adults lie.
I think that was a more formative lesson, and now that I am grown
how will he know that I am telling the truth
when I say I worry about him?
The truth is that I lie a lot. I omit parts of me from public life: I smoke
to keep a panic in, call myself quirky instead
of disabled, and scared.
In between endings there is no quiet, but there is an understanding,
and as we wait for the next one, we learn how to live
with the leftovers, and hope they last.
Today I was asked what my role in the apocalypse might be.
that first time, it was “girl who watches the news,” over
and over, and over.
It was an unusual day. Like a Monday out of turn, right after Friday.
The kind of shift that seems seismic in hindsight.
The kind of shit you only see once.
This is the second time the world has ended in two decades.
Endings are not beginnings, that’s a lie. They are
wreckage, they are dust, too bright.
I don’t want a role. I’m no good at this. I make egg sandwiches,
I knock on my neighbor’s door. I say hello.
Over, and over, and over.
Shannon Lippert is a poet, playwright, and performing artist. Her poetry was featured in GlitterShip episode 55, and has appeared in The Practical Handbook of Bee Culture.
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