Earthquakes Make Me Shudder

this is the foampad on the airbed
i've been sleeping on in the lakeside
log cabin where i'm working. the job
is far enough away that it makes sense
to stay out there, which has been nice
because the combination of deep dark
and heavy quiet has been sparking
my dream life to renewed heights.

tonight, after a dinner cooked on a
campstove in the coldwater kitchen,
there was a sudden rumble and shake,
as if something had fallen on the house,
but really it came from the ground up,
a 4.2 magnitude earthquake that came
and went so fast we didn't have time
to get up from our chairs. it took the
internet to confirm it was a shaker.

these patterns remind me of the art
of Indigenous Australian peoples, for
whom dreamlife and prophecy are
intertwined. i've got the vivid dreams
bubbling to the surface, but i didn't see
the earthquake coming--but then it's
human nature to miss the signs.