Apocalypse, Ongoing

string of asterisks

  uninterrupted
splayed in shadowed bold text
 italicized
 
pressed for eternity
  the key
flows across space
 into format
 
next line
  adds emphasis
prologue paralysis
 stark contrast
 
characters don’t adjoin
  but you know
a lifted finger
 brings an end
 
punctuation
  draft continuum
documentation
 of a line
 
enclosing circle
  existence
retrofits
 cruel cycle
 
MM 12/2024