On the Last Day by George Moore

On the Last Day

by George Moore

after João Cabral de Melo Neto

On the last day of the world
I’ll walk the dog along the shore

and we’ll notice the little things
grains of sand glistening in the moonlight

all the smells he knows so well
and we’ll not worry about Columbus

misreading the roundness of the world
or Cortez the worship of horses

or Khan where to hide himself
when the world is gone

Something will be going on
somewhere

and we’ll feast in the honor of mornings
with the traditional toast and jam

 

George Moore’s poetry has appeared in The Atlantic, Poetry, North American Review, Colorado Review, Arc and Stand. His recent collections are Children’s Drawings of the Universe (Salmon Poetry 2015) and Saint Agnes Outside the Walls (FutureCycle 2016). A finalist for The National Poetry Series and nominated for eight Pushcart Prizes, he has taught literature and writing at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and now lives on the south shore of Nova Scotia.