(written by me in May 2010)
They say our lives are dreary and routine,
When suddenly, along comes a disaster
To break the peaceful, shatter the serene.
Perhaps that’s why life’s seemed a little faster,
A bit more thrilling, maybe, recently—
I’ve just now learned that man is not Earth’s master.
From Iceland came a cloud across the sea.
We had to close our airports, cancel flights.
We fell apart—that’s how it seemed to me.
In airports, weary travelers spent long nights.
We wondered if Earth had turned on her daughters
And sons, and humankind had seen its height.
It was like that when we couldn’t drink the water.
Was Earth a vengeful mother? Did she grow
Increasingly irate that we forgot her?
Whether she did or not, I was aglow
With ardor, and I begged to brush my teeth
With our San Pellegrino. Mom said no.