Richter Scale
This afternoon I weathered an earthquake
The type that shakes the walls in the most unnatural way
Living upon no fault lines, miles and miles from the nearest coast
The shaking earth was not mother nature’s folly
The appliances shuttered as I pondered the origins of the vibrations
Jackhammers excavating the floors of the neighbors upstairs?
I gave the street sweeper out front a glare and wondered if
The vibrations trickled down from the streets
Two minutes of riding this bumpy, chaotic ride
Ended abruptly as the normal silence resumed
A calm exuded over the house as the cat pricked her ears
I too waited a long second for the return of the rumble
The aftershock came just as I sat down at my desk
A slight dread filling my mind
It lasted only a few moments. A tease and a reminder
Of the power that the unknown yields
The type that shakes the walls in the most unnatural way
Living upon no fault lines, miles and miles from the nearest coast
The shaking earth was not mother nature’s folly
The appliances shuttered as I pondered the origins of the vibrations
Jackhammers excavating the floors of the neighbors upstairs?
I gave the street sweeper out front a glare and wondered if
The vibrations trickled down from the streets
Two minutes of riding this bumpy, chaotic ride
Ended abruptly as the normal silence resumed
A calm exuded over the house as the cat pricked her ears
I too waited a long second for the return of the rumble
The aftershock came just as I sat down at my desk
A slight dread filling my mind
It lasted only a few moments. A tease and a reminder
Of the power that the unknown yields