*

*

first the plates slip

a crack, a rattle

reliable solid turns traitor

shivers beneath feet

*

helpless on soil, asphalt, gravel

we walk above dreaming trust

shudders or rolls or splits

blizzards and hurricanes warn

but not these, sudden

*

hearts leap and flutter

a moment aware, vulnerable

tiny creatures rearrange the crust

unmindful of the roiling, boiling

center below