During the Loma Prieta Earthquake

I stood on a lumpen football field;

We turned south at the sound as the earth reeled

And bucked, swells of earth surged as if to break

On our grassy shore, then rolled on to shake

Down that stilted freeway, make buildings kneel

Among their ruin, bowed to gravity.

Only light poles bobbed and lifted to rake

The placid air on either side of us,

Slowing as the quake spread, leaving our world whole

By incidence of time and space; the thrust

Of earth’s lid on which we were scattered dust

Shocked us giddy, innocent of the toll

Miles on, still sure of our lives, held in trust.