not long enough for always, too short for never
by t. zoEy benally

"always and never are not true"
i read that on a sheet of paper while cleaning today
more potential wealth unearthed
from stacks and piles, what would have been trees

always is not fair and neither is never
i wonder about words that rhyme with never
ever, that could still be a lie when teamed with "not"
virtually banged out onto a flattened tree knot
print strikes replaced by tapping plastic keyboards

always and never make me laugh
i read about dinosaur extinction hypotheses
it's easier to have potential wealth in cyberspace
but soon, all those yes and no answers will catch up
balances will tip, and dino-influenza will become our extinction level event

when always and never finally happens
cockroaches seventy times seventy generations will excavate, mine
our trash time capsules, ponder our fate, and laugh
at our always and nevers, mere shivers in the sun's
hydrogen nuclei into helium nucleus barbecue cook-off
what do humans know about always and never?