in an instant

part i
in an instant a sleepy town
is swept into a muddy sea

tens of thousands of quiet
disasters unfolding into a scream

part ii
6000 miles away
across a hundred restless seas
unexplored mountains
and terrains of the unforgotten
and unfulfilled

a man smiles as his grand
daughter takes the first of many steps

part iii
he wept when they arrived

a story of hope, the newspaper said,
notwithstanding the empty shirt
in his trembling hands
(where once his wife had been)

part iv
later, when the last of the
candles shuddered under
his grandson's breath

the man struggles
to stand

and walk away