I refuse to die in a bunker, even if
it’s with you, my dear. I want the
slow death of struggling for light,

hand in hand, through the tremors
and the flames. Do you recall when
we thought things were okay? I am

thankful to live in a time of terror.
The bomb can go off any moment:
there are so many triggers, we’ve

lost track of who or what can pull them.
What do we gain from inner peace?
Humanity risks extinction because

we love the wrong things too much.
I am under no illusions. To love you is
to resist oblivion, to laugh at craters.

Selected byKaci Skiles Laws
Image credit:Samaël Hillél Ben Sháhar

Andy Posner grew up in Los Angeles and earned an MA in Environmental Studies at Brown. While there, he founded Capital Good Fund, a nonprofit that provides financial services to low-income families. When not working, he enjoys reading, writing, watching documentaries, and ranting about the state of the world. He has had his poetry published in several journals, including Burningword Literary Journal (which nominated his poem ‘The Machinery of the State’ for the Pushcart Poetry Prize), Noble/Gas Quarterly, and The Esthetic Apostle.