Bush and Pine
Waiting for the bus
Another busy day
Just waitin' to go home.

Sprinkles of sand
Little bits of brick
Bigger pieces now
We're starting to shake.

Looking straight up
Big sheets of glass
Guillotine blades
Fall from the sky.

Buildings are moving
Straight walls are now curved
Like cobras they’re swaying
No music is heard.

Thrown to the ground
Dive under a car
Grab someone else
Pull her in too.

Ground still shaking
I’m getting hit
Legs sticking out
From under the car.

Shaking has stopped
Crawl my way out
Debris all over
My God! I’m alive!

People are gathering
Wandering about
Dazed and shocked
Trying to grasp it.

Nine hours later
Trains finally move
Home to my family
Now I’m starting to shake.

Two days of stupor
Lost and unfocused
Can’t get the horror
From out of my mind.

Have to snap out of it
Get it together
Others are worse off
I have to help them.

Red Cross database
Community outpour
Coordinate resources
Twelve hours a day.

Ten days later
It’s under control
My life has been shaken
‘Twill ne’er be the same.

October 17, 1994