The Earth moves always
slow
like your appreciation
for work and tired muscles
Earth’s multiple bodies
layers upon layers
crash
into each other
where things begin and end\
burden clarity
the first date
the last time you had sex
together; you choked
on your stitches.
even the needle
you used again
on the seismograph
picked up unknown
vibrations a train rolled
by miles long
you were late
for the job you took
for her
you forget her
birthday
tonguing the wound
where the stitches held
your taste and career
you look at the map
imagine Pangea you wonder
about their divorce
if the continents left
a paper trail a custody battle
over the desert that mirrors your eyes
and the peaks that gave you
breath
the San Andrea’s fault carves
through drought
and snow
its fingers crave the tear
and fracture
in every which way
you can see the scar from space
on a globe moving in opposite directions
they’ll just end up together again
is this why they move so hesitantly
why it took you years to understand her
every year each inch breaks your face
all the houses crumble
your ceiling falls
some rocks are collections of bone
soon they’ll be another layer
you’re supposed to find
cover cower under a desk
the magnitudes are exponential
coward
you won’t see your end coming
will you even notice
the love trying to wake you up
sometimes you think you’ve forgotten
how love continues
to crush you
the earth shakes
on the T.V. a camera no one had paid attention to
that recorded the mundane
of work caught people
starting to run
caught the fear
spreading across a man’s face
maybe your own
as if you too had forgotten
how the earth moves
has moved
that underneath your wounds
heal and split slowly
you who does nothing
to save even yourself
in the chaos
remembers all the fragments
inside the house
you blame the earthquake the foundation
never your own hands.
Listen to this poem:
Photo “A Crack in the Earth” by rabiem22 used under Creative Commons License.
