In 2009, The american disaster film "2012" was released.
Preparing for "The End of The World" was easy.

A piece of cardboard at a Red Light.


"2012 The End Is Nigh, What's a dollar?"


We might as well have smiled, given a friendly wave,
honked our horns like we were passing the Freeport Flag Ladies.


In 2012, I was in high school with my first job.

I didn't care that In the twinkling of an eye,

we were gonna hear God's last trumpet.

On Rapture-Eve, I set out "Milk N' Cookies" for the "Left-behind"

I left next mornings outfit on the side of the road as if Angels abducted me ****-*** naked mid-stride

Turns out, the red light never turned green.

The "left-behind" kept breeding

and Hell on earth just kept recruiting

Now it's 2020,

The Freeport Flag Ladies are in Quarantine,

the signs have needles in our eyelids like mechanical spiders,

You can't even turn the news off now,

I pick it up at CVS Like a Controlled substance prescription.

They make you call in once a month to get it refilled.

Some how my amazing wife Amy and I

Not only survived the rapture,
we brought a brand new life into it.

For 10 days we were locked in a hospital

We never looked at the news.

The world melted away as we danced together

Waiting to meet our little miracle.

After Amy was whisked away for intensive surgery
and survived the most unspeakably amazing thing in the world
a nurse eventually grabbed me and asked if I wanted to meet my daughter,
I was guided to a baby table

with knobs, meters, heat lamps,

and on a tiny cushion

in a tiny plastic crib,

My daughter.


Sophia Naomi Mae Coulombe.


wide eyed

staring into my pupils

wiggling

perfect

Now we are home.

No nurses, no IV.

Somehow it feels like the end of the world and all it's chaos
was the best thing that has ever happened to us.

Everything happened exactly when it needed too.


We couldn't have had better timing

if God planned it.

The memories of someone
The reminiscence of mine
Panda,  jokes, false love
Childishness and maturity
You are so smart
I am so dumb
Some people said
2012 was supposed to end
End our lives
Yet here I am still reminiscing

I once knew this boy
who would walk miles and miles
just to understand
the reason she'd smile.

She thought long and hard
about being his girl,
but decided that he
just wasn't made for her world.

A seemingly ancient photograph
Capturing a perfect moment in time
Eternalising our friendship
Sealing us in our prime

A photo taken in the spur of the moment
As an attempt to follow a new "selfie" trend
Within the seats of a worn down minivan
We all sat and laughed as friends

At the young ages of 11 and 12
Still quite young and naive
We drove around the endless fields
Laughing and singing as we were free

We called ourselves The Gang
Though we rarely did anything wrong
The six of us were so close back then
It was the only time I felt like I belonged  

Stopping the car behind the willow tree
With its branches drooping low
Rays of sunlight shining down
But at that time we didn't quite know

Let's take a picture

A black iPod touch
Was the thing to capture this moment
we all posed with the peace sign
In time we are forever frozen

This picture that at the moment meant nothing
It was all just meaningless fun
But now we see that during that time
It was the last day that we were together as one

Our lives have all gone different ways
In complete opposite directions
We haven't seen each other in years
We no longer hold that same connection

The photograph sits within my room
My most treasured possession I own
etched into the bottom of the frame
The words that we once promised

We'll meet again someday

Take a look and see,
At a house is where you be,
All around you there are trees
And the pollen makes you sneeze.

The grass is green and bright,
And from the sun comes a soft light.
A warm breeze blows, too gentle for a kite,
The fresh morning dew shines; such a beautiful sight.

There's a swing on the porch where two would sit together,
It seems the swing is one thing to out last forever.
Now it rocks back and forth from the breeze
Swaying in sync along with the trees.

Over the horizon shines the rising sun
Allowing shadows to dance on the porch, having fun.
The silence is deafening, leaving the squirrels dumb.
Not even the birds and the bees will hum.

I guess that's how the memory works
Slightly foggy with all of its quirks
Yet the silence in a memory is quite a perk
For it adds to the beauty so you can't help but smirk.

Use your eyes and see now a beach
So serene it feels quite out of reach.
The sand is so golden and so bright
You can't help but squint when it'***** by light.

So soft is the sand between our toes
The warm sunlight makes our faces glow.
Quietly the waves brush against the shore
It seems after every wave our hearts beat more

Here comes the ocean breeze blowing through your hair
—Your beauty is amazing— breathe in that salty air.
With your hand in mine we walk a straight line
Our footprints wash away if you just look behind.

As we watch the silent seagulls fly away,
So goes the same with the rest of the day.
So quiet, it seemed not a word had been spoken.
Yet we needed not speak with our minds so open.

I guess that's how the memory works
Slightly foggy with all of its quirks
Yet the silence in a memory is quite a perk
For it adds to the beauty so you can't help but smirk.

The reflection came too late
and now
I must wait,
for the mirror is
fogged.

Dogged by the memory
of the years
that passed by me,

I see shadows,
halo's of lights.

I fight my way up
no use staying here
not when the new year
is on the horizon..

It's funny.

I always trust being
on the cusp.

Today we had sxx.
One minute, two minutes, three...
A round of applauds.

Courage, why have you left me
Strength where have you gone
Faith, you fled into the world,
And left me wandering on.

Prayers you seem to be no more,
Hope, as well, has disappeared 
To the dark have I lost them both
Just like I had once feared.

I'm afraid I've finally been left alone
Shall anyone notice my cries out here?
But what's more there's a voice so soft,
I stop and wipe from my eyes my tears.

Someone, they're calling something out
It's too faint to hear as I'm too far away
Yet they must be getting closer 
For I can start to make out what they say

"Be strong, hold fast, take courage,
A command has He not given you?
For He will not leave, nor forsake;
Every tear that falls will He not come to?"

I stood up from where I was,
For I was no longer Alone.
By the voice of one like no other
Was a light to me shone.

I felt the cold leaving my body
Taking in warmth of the light I heard,
Strength came and filled my bones
At the sound of the Great Shepherd's word.

"Take heart and be strong, little lamb,
Here's something to ne'er forget
Many have been given to me by the Father
And of those many given, all shall be kept.

"This is a promise you have heard before
By it shall Faith and Hope return to you
Who will work together to bring back Prayer
And all this has come when there was naught you could do.

"Then given time Prayer will strengthen Faith
And they will work together along with God's grace
When all have become strong shall Courage come back
And all will have happened in their preordained place."

At the sound of His voice I fell down and worshiped
Just like he said came Hope, Faith, and Prayer,
When I finally looked up I could no longer see him
But, his promise remembered, I knew He was there.

And after some time along with much grace
I found that Courage was put back in his place
For as long as Faith would look toward the Cross
I knew, from God's Word, I would never be lost.

12/6/12