Perle Champion

ever feel sad when you finish a book
so much so that you open it back up
and begin to read it again? I do
is real life so dull that i must climb between the pages of a book
and re-visit this new cast of characters/friends? Yes and no.
a ready-made group of friends
worlds far removed from mine
that I can visit at will – that’s the draw

​for one frozen moment ever etched
into her being, Seti paused
it was as if the Earth stood still
and caught her collective breath and
no wind stirred the trees, no bird sang

people all along the walk stopped
all the birds lifted to the sky
the earth heaved day rent asunder
terror chased cold then hot the heels

of frightened people running blind
​streets rippling gray waves neath their feet
rubbled surf pounding them into
the gaping maws of asphalt caves

buildings fell into themselves spewed
life and death ​Seti and Kiri
rose met eye to eye and mind to mind
no longer stood in the park but
in the marble hall of the School

the fall comes but not the end
like nature something survives
barren trees again have leaves
rivers run neath desert sands
fall to winter yields to spring