The earth shook

I stood still

engrossed in a conversation

nothing moving

just my lips

faster than the reach of the eye

The earth shook

or was it a passing truck

or construction down below

or some mad bomber

or just the building twisting in the wind

The earth shook

the news had nothing else to say

no war or famine

no crime or disease

nothing for congress to do

as if they ever would

The earth shook

somewhere somewhat far away

so much that there was worry

for everything that might mean

for all those near by

The earth shook

I stood without feeling

until I heard the word

It might have been over

But all I could do

was to sway to the shaking

of a building not in the midst of quaking

Stuck in a dream of my own making