Earthquake Poem by Noble Bandit

Unexpected, in the early dawn, I feel and hear a rumble

A tremulous tossing and turning and then a blackness I can't control

Struggling to stand, the ground like the ocean's surface

I stumble then fall, my heart hammering as the world spins around me

Shelves falling, TV falling, my own sense of the apocalypse

I cry, "WOAHHHHH, GET OUTSIDE! ! ! ! ! "

We scramble from the third floor clutching walls, railings

Descending the dark stairwell barefooted and half dressed

We hear the steel structures groan and whine

"Which direction is up? Which path is forward? "

I thought I was going to die

Hotel guests turning round and round. Others just sitting on their bed with a dazed look

Pieces of the ceiling, broken pipes, smoke, and powdered plaster

When re-imagining the lobby, I picture a bar fight at the Coyote

No soul unscathed in such a decor

"Did it shake you to the bone? "

A piercing silence

"On tsunami watch now, I guess? "

Amidst the wreckage, realization sets in

It's going to be a long day at the Eagle River Hotel

Another tremor rattles my numb body

Nerves frayed with shellshock

Outside, a giant snow globe

Our fate in the future tense unclear

I pass people but they say nothing. Dazed zombies

Caught up in their own tragedies

In the light of day, scattered debris, mounds of asphalt

Police car lights and fire sirens

The whole town begins buzzing, talking, talking, talking about the fallout

and the destruction but not letting misfortune win

What way forward?

People come to one another's aid

Rebuild, revive. A course aimed at giving new hope

From the turmoil comes a new, reassembled configuration