AFTER SHOCK

33 lines

Magnitude Seven

Without preparations
No warnings, no signs
Fierce tremors and rumbles
No chance for good-byes
Explosions and fumes
Soot, rubber, and smoke
Only reverberations
And not one single joke

Shrill sirens, grave wreckage
Devastation alert
Desolation and death
Inhabitants hurt
Dreams shattered, souls scattered
Requests … worldwide aid
For support and assistance
With millions afraid

Every moment lost
In crowded isolation
Buried belongings
Uninvited relocation
Major disruptions
No home and no school
Hopeless, downhearted
Reassurance screams cruel

Where is his mother?
Beneath stone and brick
When will it end?
Reminders drain quick
Thumb sucking, bed-wetting
Traumatized nightmares
Magnitude seven
No hope but in prayers

33 lines