The World Is Burning

The world is burning, and I'm not even sure how it started
I heard some person spilled the midnight oil onto the carpet
Of their apartment - others say an arsonist sparked it
Some even swear that it's been there since Adam fell from the garden, but I
Know that's a myth cuz I was in that crowded theater
When somebody shouted "fire" and no one around believed her
We were cave dwellers - sitting comfortably
Till I saw my shadow start to flicker on the seat in front of me

We watched the city being charred, and passed incinerated cars
Power lines alit like C-beams that glitter in the dark
And from above you could witness amber threads cover each district
On the CNN feed like they were written in the stars
They said riot vans were supplied to each fireman
And hired hand who tried and tried again without a fighting chance
So now we're out the frying pan and into the fire
And each day it's like I'm trapped inside a cigarette lighter

Since that night I've changed - I quit romantic interactions
Cuz it felt a little tactless to be having Tinder matches
Runnin' into old flames'd just be a drag if it happened
Kicked the habit - and don't forget the risk of getting gaslit
These days, Steam games I've just been avoiding
My temper is like embers and my blood's always boiling
Wearing flared jeans is sorta fine, blazers might be borderline
Sears in short supply, I hear they're under-employing
Despite the deaths I'm abandoning rituals like candlelit vigils
I've never been less keen to use my Amazon Kindle
Our panicked officials may as well be a man with a fiddle
Who does nothin' but stand in the middle of Rome as it burns

Their plans are all wishful, they say so many words
They're understanding and civil, and then they vote to adjourn
Their only concern that they don't just totally shirk
Is when they open their purses for brokerage firms
I know, that's absurd - and now we're seeing folks selling merch
For purchase with cutesy slogans that you can throw on a shirt
Like how adulting in the midst of an inferno's the worst
I heard a talk show host's selling fire-themed frozen desserts

Meanwhile the radio reports conditions improving
Cuz look, this crematorium owner says business is booming
A former friend's a flame skeptic, he says evidence is weak
Cuz you can't ever just believe the shit on MSNBC
I'm worried for him but I'll be the first to admit
For a disbeliever, he's certainly quick at burnin' a bridge
People's takes have gotten blazing hot - and if you make a blog
You can say anything and get shared by a Facebook mom
Fake or not - like "fire alarms are government tracking machines"
Or "how to get the perfect smokey eye naturally"
Or "grow sage 'n' rosemary for homemade potpourri
To mask annoying gas leaks while you Postmates groceries"

Okay, so can we just skip to the epilogue?
I'll even leave a nice review of it up on Letterboxd
Forget the plot, forget the scent of scorched pines and oak
Forget the sight of the horizon cloaked in plumes of rising smoke
Pretend we never saw the sky turn the colour of blood and honey
Like a flame spirit drunkenly swallowin' up the country
As hundreds of tongues consume any inquisitive moth
Its voice a hiss when it talks, on trails of igneous rock
I thought fire was a gift till I saw it melt the ice caps
So Prometheus, i 'preciate it but send it right back
And now I'm rambling - shit, I've been lettin' my mind stray
When I got chores to handle and there's still ash in my driveway
They say if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen
But now my kettle's makin' sounds, the fumes are cloudin' my vision
So till the ground is extinguished and we've doused the whole world in rain
I've got no choice but to learn how to live life in eternal flame