as i sit cross-legged
on the floor
feeling the timbers shudder
as the concrete cracks
the embers of the world
falling down around me
like lightning bugs
in a hurricane
there is a peace
amidst the insanity
an order
to the chaos
of yet another catastrophe
befallen in unspoken fear.

of all
the four letter words
that carry meaning
beyond the keen
of mortal understanding
hope is the worst offender
creating craters
in which the brackish waters
race to drown
the insipidness
within the stained glass refrain
portraying what once
was so clear
now muddied.