PAD Day 5: Rock n' Roll!

 No, not that rock n' roll, but the kind you feel during an earthquake. Today was a rare occurrence: an earthquake in the Eastern U.S. It was centered in Northern New Jersey so people in that area and nearby New Yotk City probably felt it the most. But it got our attention down here in South Jersey and Philadephia too. It seems that in my vicinity (northern Camden County) whether you felt it depended on where you were. I personally didn't sense anything - I was in my eye doctor's appointment at the time - but several people I know in the area definitely felt it. I only remember actually sensing two earthquakes in my lifetime: one in the middle of the night in 1973 (I was living near a railroad line so I thought it was a passing train); and one in 2011, which was one of the biggest ones ever in the East and affected practically everywhere from Maine to Florida - it even put cracks in the Washington Monument. I was working in my office at the time and remember seeing nearby file cabinets swaying back and forth. It was pretty scary.

Here are the prompts for today:

WBP: Write a poem with the title "Tell ________."

PSH: Write a poem in the voice of your dog or cat. 

NPWM: "Today we’d like you to start by taking a look at Alicia Ostriker’s poem, “The Blessing of the Old Woman, the Tulip, and the Dog.” Now try your hand at writing your own poem about how a pair or trio very different things would perceive of a blessing or, alternatively, how these very different things would think of something else (luck, grief, happiness, etc)."

I'm getting a late start today (actually it's almost 10 p.m.) because it was one of those days when I literally didn't have a free moment until mid-evening. I have a feeling several days this month may end up like this one - I have a lot on my plate. Anyway, here's my poem - I used several more than two or three persons or things as suggested by NPWM, and I had to imagine I had a dog or cat as suggested by PSH.

Tell Us What You Thought of the Earthquake
 
A six-year old: It felt like I was dancing but my feet weren’t moving.
A science teacher: Cool!
A Californian: You call that an earthquake?
A cat: Who knocked those dishes off the shelves? That’s my job!

A dish: Owwww….
A bird: I think I saw some shivering below.
A worm: Wheeeeee!

A dog: WHAT'S HAPPENING? WHAT'S HAPPENING?
A high-rise building: I waved to the rest of the city.
A train: Ha-ha, they thought it was me.
A bridge: Uh-oh.
The earth: It was only a 4.8. You people better get off my plates
before I really get pissed off!