Twenty-first Century Prophecy

And I saw and look,
at the nearing of the end of days
a vast crowd poured forth
into the streets, from schools, houses, and factories;
as if the gates of the sea had opened
and spewed them out.

Four blackened concubines lead them -
fell creatures from the ninth circle of hell
writhing free from pits of demons.

Their names were Chaos and Anarchy,
Riot and Dread,
and they went among the people causing
confusion and doubt,
spreading seeds of dissent and suspicion;
each one mistrusting the other.

Words came from my mouth steeped in meaning,
wreathed in truth, as small globes of light
spinning from me in flashes of prophecy.
I sent them after the crowd and where they fell
some would awaken, as if from a dream.
In this way a small remnant were saved,
but the vast multitude rushed on.

Time was taken from them.
Night became as day, and day night, and they were lost
in immeasurable wilderness.

The wave swelled and churned forward,
leaving swathes of debris in its wake.
And the name of the wave was Devastation,
ravening over all the earth like a pestilence.
It swallowed up the children who were to have lead
through future generations,
in whose lifeblood flowed promise
of new perceptions,
so that there was no guidance for the crowd
as they rushed blindly on, babbling
and leading one another astray.

A wasteland sprang up behind the hoard,
and there spread behind them a scorched, empty plain.
And I saw a great chasm, open up in their path.
So great was the momentum that they swept forward
pressing after each other until all were plunged in
and none survived.

Then a great angel came down and sealed up the place
where they had gone, and they were no more.
The books of legend were sealed
and with them the doom of man,

and the Lord dusted off his hands
and his gown and said,
bloody good riddance,
and he disappeared.

Only we few were left.
We looked at each other
and we were afraid