It starts with an ending

Our future will start with an ending.
With wild, raging, fires
that consume all the words we speak,
we have ever spoken,
about inconvenience, petulance, and arrogance,
and the changes we must make.
With rising, rushing, waters
that wash away all the words we write,
we have ever written,
about evidence, precedents, and presidents,
and the actions we must take.
With roaring, scouring, winds
that blast away all the words we think,
we have ever thought,
about our influence, relevance, losing confidence,
and the habits we must shake.
It starts with endings.
Each. Full. Stop.
And in that future, when our words are ash,
those who are left might pour out
all our redundant punctuation marks
into the scales, trying to understand
the weight of our inaction.