Early Morning Wake Up
Early morning silence
Odd
I wake and start
to get up when I feel
the floor begin to shake
Trembling, I race to grab
my two children
and push them to duck
cover and hold under
our dining room table
The ground moves beneath
us and sounds like a freight
train roaring through our home
I begin to pray with my son
and daughter to fight our fear
Earthquake stops
I check outside to see
flashlights shine in the dark
One neighbor turns
on his big wheel truck’s
headlights to bask
the area in light
I return inside to hear
a small eight-year-old
voice praying furiously
to combat fright
Anxious thoughts penetrate
my mind because my young adult
is not home and I don’t know
his whereabouts
A big black Oldsmobile
pulls up
My mother quickly
jumps out to make
sure we are all right
Upset at hearing her grandson
was not with us, she proceeds
to do her detective work
We discover my oldest is sound
asleep across the street at his buddy’s
having slept through the quake
Summoned to the door, he emerges
rubbing his eyes, only to be met
by his grandmother’s wrath
Lucky Bird
A small blue parakeet
with long tail feathers
sits on the edge of a plate
to share a morning meal
with his owner
my mother’s father
Lucky has the freedom
to fly through the house
and sits securely
on his shoulder
while a black and white
television show is aired
or music flows from a radio
The small bird’s life
is such a contrast
to the lives of the grey pigeons
my mom brings home as pets
When she can’t find them
after school, she asks her Italian
grandfather what he knows
since he lives with them
He smiles and simply opens
the oven door
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