Poem of remembrance--Sichuan Earthquake

Sichuan Earthquake

imagine the innocent wonder of those who

watch the ground moving

like a giant bolt of silk

agitated by unseen hands.

a few seconds of amazement--

then the meaning of this mysterious movement

burns its way deep into their consciousness--

and survival trumps beauty.

the voices coming from the radio

speak a heavily accented dialect

that sounds alien to these ears,

but the language of grief and loss

is eerily the same;

it cleaves the heart,

inconsolable weeping tearing at my throat,

my tears uniting with those who survived--

for those who did not.

their world turned upside-down in an instant,

ours predictable to the point of numbness.

now they are numb with the immensity of their loss

and our solid foundation trembled for an instant.

clasping hands, like ghosts,

we softly brush past one another

trading places.