New Zealand Earthquake

Some say there is no such thing as earthquake weather,
but most everyone who lives along a fault line knows
stillness proceeds a quake then a low rumble from deep
underground followed by a rolling motion or sudden jerk.

Doors open and dishes crash into a thousand pieces
too sharp to walk across
and if the rooftops hold you've got to hurry
out the door away from fallen wires and other debris.

Voices cry from somewhere deep inside the piles of
concrete and men who would like to run away, stay to
pull block by block the remnants of a former home
to uncover someone's loved one. They do not stop
until he is free and back in his mother’s arms.

A few kneel to pray others lose their faith in the
wreckage that topples churches from every denomination.
How could God be so indifferent to human lives adding
liquefaction to the other devastation?

Somewhere in the rubble an old lady sings a melody
from when she was young, a sweet soothing lullaby
to let everyone know everything will be okay.

E tangi ana koe
Hine e hine
E ngenge ana koe
Hine e hine
Kati tö pouri rä
Noho i te aroha
Te ngäkau o te Matua
Hine e hine *

You are weeping
Little girl, darling girl
you are weary
Little girl, darling girl
Be sad no longer
There is love for you
in the heart of the Father
Little girl, darling girl

Survivors climb out of windows and from under rubble-
dust covered and forever altered - but still alive.
Given strength they lend a hand to help another and
together they recover from the desolation that
surrounds them on this day.

* A Maori song from New Zealand