poem of the day 08.24.11

little earthquake

small vibrations
from underground
cause big waves

until the whole thing goes viral
and in under twenty minutes
the world wide web
is already asking

where were you when?

so the east coast had
a little earthquake

yet sadly the east coast is still there

and baseball season goes on
in all of its glorious monotony

football season is coming too
to help raise those domestic beer sales

the forgiving autumn is on its way

but you wouldn’t know it
from the news reports

from the interviews
with the everyman on the street

from the evacuations and cable overkill

from the people with their knowing eyes
whispering tsunami

from nuclear reactor nightly news broadcasts

i heard the president just
received a care package from japan

it was three pounds of shit
stuffed in a one pound bag

with a note from this week’s prime minister
saying, hope this helps

but ain’t that america?

land of the free
home of the tabloid conspiracy
and the 24-hour news network

ain’t that america?

where the only structural damage
is to the national ego

where every day for the last decade
has been 9/11 over and over again

it would be laughable
if you didn’t have to worry
about the bad vibrations
spreading from coast to coast

feel the motion sickness
from the wobbling national conscience

still barreling down those interstates
in a car full of gas

that we’ll keep telling ourselves
only cost us a buck or two a gallon