Beyond Our Reach
When the end of the world
failed to arrived on May 21, 2011,
as Harold Camping has predicted,
some people felt betrayed..
The next day I saw him on TV, not in heaven,
eighty nine years old broadcaster,
no trace of embarrassment, still eager
to see it happening, to see it through.
What makes us believe in stories
that cannot be verified, in miracles
that never took place, in prophecies
that will not come true?
Scores of gods have sunk into oblivion –
sacrifices ignored, prayers not answered.
It looks like the end of the world
lurks beyond our reach as well.
Boris Kokotov was born in Moscow, Russia. Currently he lives in Baltimore. He writes poems and short stories. He also translated selected poems of German Romantics and contemporary American poets to Russian language. His work appeared in periodicals, most recently in Allegro, The Bewildering Stories, Boston Poetry Magazine, Constellations, Chiron Review, and The Lake.
