Peter Minter: Extinction

I was there when the dieback began.
     First I felt the dead drive
toward total florescence, company drying-out
     as the sun went down
on prime real estate, sandalwood, cedar
     feathers in the red run, charred
plains of old geology
     bled maritime types into eternal night

spectral as money gluts.
     The carve-up hits home in total darkness.
But, it's true, I can see you now, standing
     waves lonely as a memory
annihilates the sweet & grassy light, singing O
     we never stood there, never.