Midnight Ghazal* on the Fate of Humanity

Woken from the depths of sleep I wait now
For this dark vision to pass beneath midnight’s gate now

Whirling in turmoil words wind through the darkness
And watery depths sing dirges of humanity’s terrible fate now

I see the future lead haltingly into an abyss of chaos
Where once was hope, it is far too late now

I can see no way through our terrible pathology
Treating the symptoms cannot the disease abate now

As humanity’s plague of too many bodies and bellies
Faces Nature’s harsh correction we isolate now

But the years ahead rumble in perilous uncertainty
I see coming plagues ever more deadly as I wait now

I pray for this dark vision to pass from me
And crave the return of sleep insensate now

But words upon words of human vanity
In trillions of spews and scratches inflate now

Careen through the darkness like gnats of insanity
Sophistry and lies and pompous profusions of debate now

Grinning boosters of never-ending growth spout inanities
Seeking to paper over Nature’s harsh rules of state now

But Hers are iron rules that will end our viral growth
Nature will have her way with us ingrates now

We had our chance to learn wisdom and humility
But we squandered it on the investment rate now

The returning peace of slumber returns too late now
For me, veritas, the vision of impending crises lies in wait now

• Originally an Arabic verse form dealing with loss and romantic love, medieval Persian poets embraced the ghazal, eventually making it their own. Consisting of syntactically and grammatically complete couplets, the form also has an intricate rhyme scheme. Each couplet ends on the same word or phrase (the radif), and is preceded by the couplet’s rhyming word (the qafia, which appears twice in the first couplet). The last couplet includes a proper name, often of the poet’s.