Magnitude 5.7 Poem by Kim Barney

I could have been killed this morning.
My first thoughts were that someone
was in my bedroom walking around

and making no effort at all to be quiet.
I turned on the lamp, but no one was there.
Confused, I got up and checked other

rooms in the house because I was sure
that someone had been making some
noise, but the house had nobody

who didn't belong. Later I discovered
that there had been a strong earthquake
not so many miles away, near a city

called Magna. Some schools have been
damaged, with bricks even falling off
the walls. Trailer homes have had

severe damage, with front doors that
no longer will close, shifted foundations
and cracked walls. The Salt Lake City

International Airport is closed, with no
flights arriving or departing, all due
to a broken water main that has caused

copious flooding. On the Salt Lake
Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints, the statue of the

Angel Moroni had the trumpet shaken
off. I don't know if it was found, or if
someone ran off with a bit of gold!

In my living room, a plastic container
that had been in the middle of a chair
last night was found this morning on

the floor about six inches away. I can't
see any damage to my house, yet I look
at the bookcase right above the head

of my bed, made of three shelves and
six heavy stone blocks, and I think
that I am lucky to still be alive.