Emily Knier

my stomach is
churning with its dual
contents of 300mg of caffeine
and leftover pizza;
it’s churning too from
the state of the world;
from a young couple getting
married to the tune of
air raid sirens instead of bells;
it’s in the front of my mind and
i think of rising gas prices
and the thought of a draft
lingers in the back of my mind
too; if the world needs me
i am ready; maybe i can finally
die for a worthy cause; if
it’s worthy at all;
my stomach is churning because
i wonder if the world
owes me, and i wonder
if i owe anything to the world;
do i care whether
i will die, do i even want to live;
my life has no meaning, no
higher purpose; i believe
in nothing, other than that
we are all born to die;
will i live to get married too, or
will the world end too soon;
too soon is subjective, maybe
the world should have
ended already