Critically Endangered Species

A black rhino stands,
its body dissolving in layers of shadow—
strength eroding into fragility.
The edges fray,
as if time itself is scraping it away.

Each mark is a heartbeat—
loud, then fading.
Only 6,195 remain.

Around it, chaos burns:
gray, toxic green,
sickly yellow light—
a battlefield disguised as earth.

This is not myth.
This is not memory.
This is vanishing in real time.

Extinction does not roar.
It dissolves,
quiet,
until we forget it was ever here.

The black rhino still stands—
but humanity is already guilty.

—Jon.E.B. | Condemned