Earthquake Weather

Here at the edge -  the earth is fragile
subject to rattles and jars -
gods kicking a ball

the sky is usually bright blue
The air is still
Right there – pay attention to that quiet
Feel the warm calm in the afternoon?

Usually the air moves; in a breeze
fog, wind, cell phone discussions,
the locals rustling the air with their breath
It is the quiet that is suspicious

Like when the small children are  
very very silent in their room
because they’ve wrapped the baby  
with duct tape and popsicles sticks
Just like a real mummy
They were planning to bury him next – like on Discovery Channel
That kind of quiet

no no, dogs don’t howl  
there is no restlessness on the part of the birds
what do they know?  
They don’t spend time on the ground

there is a moment when the air connects straight to the ground
and pauses
a second before the earth shifts again
sideswipes, rattles or rolls
a quick buckling and the whole landscape
leans a little more to the left.

And for some reason
We all look up.