Once, Long, Long Ago, Kelly Bergh

ONCE, LONG, LONG AGO

Kelly Bergh

For a surreal interlude, Everyone seemed to understand what was about to happen

The man in front of me had a salt-and-pepper beard and a baseball cap, college-age, cheeks spotted with acne— divinely empowered to deliver An eternal, cosmic struggle between good and evil

Rather than defy him, Nearly everybody Looked at him uncertainly

He flashed an “O.K.” hand sign, expressed jubilant surprise that they were still in charge, The architects of this apocalypse Renouncing an entire world view

“It’s not a conspiracy when it’s documented and recorded.”

All language in this poem is taken from “The Storm “by Luke Mogelson, published in The New Yorker, January 25, 2021.

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