“Shock and awe,”
They blustered,
Telling us
In three
What their mandate
Said in
Hundreds
Of thousands.
“Shock
And
Awe!”
And I do,
Indeed,
Find myself
Awed.
I am awed
By the canyons
That separate
My understanding
From the world
Their blusters
(Smug now)
Name,
And shocked
By how swiftly
The world
Seemed to
Crack
Beneath
Our feet.
And I think
Of the shoes
Collected
When the time before
Was over,
And could be seen
For what it was.
And I wonder
What cliffs
The curators
Will lay
Before
Our Children’s
Children
To convey
The depths
We face
Today.