Prayer for the End
Maymoona Khan
Wise men know they do not
And foolish children speak Dandelion better
Lengthen this prayer to welcome reason
And foolish children speak Dandelion better
Lengthen this prayer to welcome reason
Look out as that water poisons and drowns
Your fate too comes from plastic suffocation
something artificial, deliberate, and manufactured
Lengthen this prayer with a beacon
Stand beneath that Sun and let it make you anxious
Your promises begin to slip across your face as sweat
Lengthen this prayer for the dying season
When those explosive fumes begin to mask as clouds
Don’t Believe it: Beauty comes in end
Lengthen this prayer with both of your knees in
Watch as that old man darkens into gray smoke
His purpose came too late
Lengthen this prayer for the father of treason
Rage, Rage Against the Dying of the Light
Reach into another Night
Lengthen this prayer without ceasing
Maymoona Khan, a USC Engineering student originally from Swat, Pakistan, grew up surrounded by lush mountains. After moving to Los Angeles, she navigated urban life while staying connected to nature, expressing her love for the natural world through prose and poetry.
