Sunday, February 28, 2010

Poem - 8.8

"Although the Richter Scale has no upper limit, the largest known shocks have had magnitudes in the 8.8 to 8.9 range...."

-- USGS

to ride an 8.8 earthquake
you wouldn't like it

you'd hear a roar like a freight train
100 stories tall coming straight on

the solid ground would be roiled
as if you were in a heavy sea

a shaking would be so severe
you would be blown off your feet

furniture and other objects are flying into you
as bodies
ricochet off the walls and floor

and all you can do while the shaking lasts
is to lay wherever you are and try

to hold onto the ground
while the house or building above you

most likely collapses crushing you to death
in a few seconds all is dark

if you are still alive after the first shock
you dig out full of blood

as far as you can see will be ruins
screams and a horrible smoke

you sit there coated in dust choking
hearing trapped people cry for help

the buildings begin to burn
incenerating anyone alive in the ruins

what is it like to come to the conclusion
that earth has no feeling for you
alive or dead

but then at the same time earth!
we come from you and go back to you

that is all there is

2 comments:

The Rambling Taoist said...

A few years back, I lived in Salem, OR when an earthquake hit Washington State. Though far from the epicenter, I still felt it. Not a lot mind you, but I did feel it.

It was one of the most discombobulating feelings I've ever felt and I had sincerely hoped I would never feel it again. But I felt it again today when I read your poem.

CM said...

There's a noise too, when the earth shakes -- furniture and other possessions beating on the walls as the structure trembles -- a rapid rhythmic bumping that happens in cycles, a sound I will never forget.