The Survivor

Two works. One fractured world.
What does it mean to survive when what defined us is gone?

A poem and a song speak to the same post-apocalyptic reality, each from its own side.

By Fábio César · Area Orbital · 2026-08-07

The Survivor

Caustic and erratic,
he slipped through the rubble,
fleeing the shadow.
…
There are moments when your worst enemy is not out there.

Piles of rubbish stank in the crypts,
so the remedy was to run:
…
When everything stops,
anyone who wants to live must be fast!

Guard sirens wailed in the distance,
and a zoom of thunder
angered the indigent man
— until his chest slammed
against red-hot iron
that twisted the horizon.
…
When chaos settles in,
there is no point in staying or fleeing,
because you have nowhere to go
— you are in a non-place
and must build one.

After the war — any war —,
the only way forward is to stay alert!

Scavenging carcasses, stealing food, kicking tyres,
he leapt without pause,
looking for another human
in a scrap-metal landscape.

Sometimes, finding one human among eight billion is hard work.
Life is wild, and the city is restless!

Or perhaps the war is eternal
and polarity, acute.

Living on opposite sides reduces the survivors’ chances,
because there is no longer any way
to walk side by side, arm in arm.
And now, José?

LISTENING COMPANION
Carpenter Brut — “Anarchy Road”

Carpenter Brut’s song is presented here as a companion piece: its lyrics explore a similarly fractured world of violence, survival and urban collapse.

==========================

Images: art generated by Artificial Intelligence.

© 2026 Area Orbital — All rights reserved.
This article is an original work by Fábio César, first published by Area Orbital (Brazil).
Reproduction of this content, in whole or in part, is not permitted without prior authorization.

• Area Orbital® is an independent publication dedicated to Retrowave music and 1980s culture.