Pompeii

The silence was like glass; it shattered as the earth roared.

Gray smoke stained the sunrise; dark ash like raindrops poured.

The mountain shook and groaned, releasing bursts of heat.

Buildings quaked and shattered; walls fell in defeat.

Screams pierced the silence, spreading through the air.

The mountain spat out rocks; they hurtled everywhere.

Flames devoured the streets, spitting sparks into the sky.

The city was a prison of flames, trapping many inside to die.

Nature wasn’t to blame; our ignorance was our murderer.

If only we’d glimpsed the sand in Nature’s hourglass, dripping further.

Past eruptions cried their warning, a plea we chose to ignore.

We chose our city over safety, a careless decision that we’d pay for.

We ignored an earthquake, with its fervent rumbling,

though it tried to signal that something worse was coming.

Destruction was at our doorstep; our demise crept from behind.

Death was a shadow at our heels, but it never crossed our minds.

Our legacies go up in smoke, as does the city of our pride.

Both hopes and dreams are burned to ash as we who are left die.

Now we lie forgotten, our futures and buildings crushed.

Now we burn with the city, becoming ash among the dust.

-Joanna Andrews