Living life precariously...

7.4

Earthquake

Taiwan

25 years

Since the last strong one

That would be the twentieth century

Aftershocks and tsunami's

What in the world

Were they thinking?

Building on top

Of a restless dragon

Everyone knows

He must turn over

Occasionally

Run fast and hide

No, no

The hills came raining down

And the ocean leapt up

What the hell!

Those old buildings 

Are still standing firm

Having already 

Riden this ride before

But those new guys

Don't know what to do

Waving back and forth

In the wind until

They simply tilt

Like a windmill

Over on to one side.

Poor old dragon

Had to stretch

Way up there

Got stuck

Five aftershocks

All over 5,0

Could have knocked down

An entire town 

In old merry England

These new places

Are such a bother

Don't know why

He moved here.

He misses the smell

Of the old Britain

Got chased away 

By some kid named

Merlin

Be gone

To the other side of the world

Nothing to do over here.

No damsels in distress

No kings to eat

Nothing to burn down

Guess he will roll over

And go back to sleep

Feel that water lapping

At his toes....

Those people have no idea

It was no fault of thier own

Just living on the wrong island

Now their homes are in peril

At least it is not a city

Full of glass structures

And nothing else.

I live in such a community

Where even a marker building

With that historic emblem

Is just plucked off 

By some Mexican 

Who cant read the language

And don't care either.

They keep tearing down

Those firm buildings

Which have already 

Been given permission

And on a double fault line

Have survived

This tiny city 

Was once a beautiful sight

To all those 

Who bothered 

Going any further than

Los Angeles

The original big port

Than that tiny village

Got the train 

And highways

While we were happy

To see the ocean

And smell the breeze

Tsunamis and typhons

Are not unknown

But everyone is new

And don't understand

Just build big glass buildings

Don't worry 

There is nothing

To worry about

Except that circle

Of volcanos 

Just behind them

The ones that get 

Snow sometimes

Because they are so high

While down at the beach

During low tide

The water reveals

What lies beneath

Lots of rocks 

And lava flow

One can see the marks

That the Indians left behind

They used the volcanic rock

To bore holes into

For their meal preparations

Living perilously close

To water that might

One day rise up

And swallow them

Which is what probably 

Did happen

We know they were here

But....

That nasty San Andreas

Line runs straight down

From the north

To our bay

And then there is 

The other one

From the south

Baja was once 

Not attached 

But now it sticks out

Like a finger

Due to the upthrust

Of the earths core

They don't believe 

In dragons over here

But turtle's

Large ones that move

Around from time to time

Which is why some old maps

Show a different coastline

On the opposite side

Of the big pond

Called the Pacific

Only old maps

In other places such

As Asia or Russia

Show the difference 

This area has altered

Hmm, wonder if all that

Noise of those builders

May have woken

Something else

Lying much deeper?

Well, at least those

Taiwanese are prepared

For anything 

Even Godzilla 

Dropping by

These people 

Don't even know 

What to do unless

It is the comic con

Or the Padres game

They just mill around

Disturbing the substance

Below their feet

And the area is the old

Marina where there are

Still ships laying beneath

The asphalt

Oh, I hear him

The big bad boy

Stomping his way

Jimmy cant stand it

Which is why he lives 

In a fantasy world

Where he controls 

Women and takes thier money

Some of us have had 

Too much 

Of other peoples 

Happiness

At our misery

When we do nothing

But wait for the mail

To deliver us out of hell

Instead, we keep hearing 

About our precarious life

Amongst those who 

Don't care how many die

Another one was pulled out

This last week

Lost count of the slow

Dying neighbors

Who have nothing to do

But hang around out front

Waiting for the big one 

To score and spend

Someone else money

Maybe a piece of 

Space debris 

Will fall on them

Sleep dragons

For some of us

Believe 

And walk carefully...