Published in the 2024 St. Louis County Library Anthology, incomplete. Here it is in total.
See the image
reflected
in eyes
peering from
trees
blades of grass
ocean depth
Listen to worrying
stillness
as quiet
aching awareness
grows for each intelligent
being
Feel sadness
weigh upon your heart
as one by one
fellow life forms
disappear
becoming memories
of beauty
lost
for those of us
left behind
See yourself
reflected
in eyes
peering
Hear yourself
quietly
stirring
aching
Feel yourself
passing
into
extinction
by your own hand