Aftershocks

A short free verse poem about the 2024 N.Y. earthquake

Aftershock/2024

 

Sitting in my classroom, another, “typical day”

Kids sitting in the wrong seats,

Me trying to deliver the point of “Point of View”

Being mostly, ignored,

 

And then a vibration of comes across the room,

A few eyes look at me.

I look to my students and state, “That was an earthquake”

My Co-Teacher quickly states that it was not.

 

I tell all of them that it was an earthquake,

And quickly move to turn on the radio

To prove myself correct.

 

I press the little power button,

And 880 AM tunes in.

 

Instantly, 30 or so voices start to scream in panic,

“What is that Ms.?!”

It’s a radio, I reply.

Reviews

[Ballpark Frank]

This is funny! They didn't know? Lol. I love it.

[Chris Shaw]

Not every day you have an earthquake. An experience I have never had. Would have been scary for me and yet here the radio appears to have caused more upset. I guess kids these days don’t listen to a radio, let alone tune one in for news. I could picture this scenario clearly.

Chris

[jacob erin-cilberto]

It would have been really scary for me if I still lived in NY in our 5 story walk up on the fifth floor of it.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

This is not so much of a shock...kids don't know what radios are, what color slides are...
When I teach Billy Collins' poem "Introduction to Poetry" usually one or two people know what a color slide is.
They look at me like I am ancient...ah, and Point of View....my students live in an area where it is proper to switch every sentence to "you" either from first person or third.
I wrote to Dean Koontz once about his point of view in his novels and how cool it was that he wrote in first person even from the monster's point of view.
He actually responded....I was stunned...hand written reply.
Go Dean!
Love this poem.
j.