I See

I sense the calm,
Everything still,
Everything silent,
The smell of fresh blown wind in the air.
I stop a moment –
Am I alive? Is this heaven?
Then I hear the screams
Of broken bodies and wounded souls.
I feel the pain searing through my legs
And the weight of the roof on my back.
In less than a minute, this storm has taken everything.
I slowly try to move as the blood
Running out of my nose drips off my chin.
I see my grandfather.
I see birthday parties and baseball games.
I feel afresh a first kiss,
A new love,
My child being born.
I see the world fading away.
I see…

KW ’12