suddenly we
were the dinosaurs
or the elk and deer of Tunguska
when the sky erupts and even
the air we breathe
becomes a force of reckoning
suddenly we
are those who did not listen
to voices humble and great
to truth from every place it was written
we are smaller parts of a small round world
it has neither lines nor walls, it breathes
in the glow of a cauldron in the cold deeps
suddenly we
are united as the speck on the wall
as the droplet of rain
as the flattened bug on windshield
when the sky is afire
when no single man can withstand
then, a moment that cannot be denied,
suddenly ...we
Author's notes-
1) the Tunguska explosion
http://earthsky.org/space/what-is-the-tunguska-explosion
2) poem notes-
A meteorite over Siberia, traveling so fast its shock wave rattles
our buildings shatters glass-- and maybe shatters the blind comfort
we place in chance. It is not certain that we could stop a life changing impact with
a rock from space...even in the movies it looks hard and needs a hero or She-ro
But it is certain that we can try, and appreciate that everyone has a stake in
the welfare of the planet. Everyone needs food, water, air, and a place upon which to stand--Earth is kind to us, but it wont do what only we can do to keep our toe hold on this
amazing world...hdm