From the editor of “Santa Cruz Poets, Santa Cruz Inspiration,” a poem about the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.
BLACKBIRDS FLYING BACKWARDS
“Before the shaking begins, cats and dogs run away, and
blackbirds fly backwards.”
–Folkloric tradition
Beware stucco, beware faults; beware highrise, beware freeway.
Beware Fremont, Oakland, Rodgers Creek, Hayward.
Get out your prayer book and start to pray.
The world is going to end. It may happen today.
Duck, cover and hold. Earthquake, earthquake, say the word.
Beware plaster, beware clay. Pack your bags and move away.
Beware landfills, beware malls. Beware cats that run away.
“Here it comes. Step over the sill, get out on the curb.
Get out your Bible and start to pray.”
’Save us, Andrew, Buddha, St. John the Divine… ’
Beware hot, dry weather and blackbirds
flying backwards. Loma Prieta, San Andreas, El Lay…
A neighbor racing down stairs in her negligee.
Crouch in a stairwell. Don’t be scared. Be prepared.
Stash band-aids and Tylenol. Do it now. Don’t delay.
San Jose is not okay. Pack your bags and move away.
Beware shake, beware shout. Follow the herd.
Beware stucco, beware faults; beware highrise, beware freeway.
Get out your Bible and start to pray.
* * *
Inhale, exhale – contraction – rest –
Dipping, bending, buckling,
earth giving birth to the earth
its crust snapping
Inhale, exhale – contraction – rest –
Blink and it’s gone – blink and it’s rubble.
Robert Sward
Robert Sward is a longtime resident of Santa Cruz County.
Local Poets, Local Inspiration, edited by Robert Sward, appears weekly online and monthly in Santa Cruz Weekly. Selections are by invitation.
