The ground dropped out

beneath my soul,

the earth I trusted,

A mud filled hole.

As sure as life was all around

silence stilled hearts, a crack…no sound

Our states’ land spilled forth

battered tirelessly by a drink of rain

washing lives from the earth

as if their presence a stain

crushed like a castle,
tended to by a child’s hand, one fatal wave reduced life to sand,
fragility; a message –bruises hearts with a thud,
your importance is savored deep beyond devastation or mud,
one man’s sorrow described his son’s death as the “devil’s hug,”
Tis true, nature’s claimed you, as sure as the waves lap the shore,
but now you’re bigger than life
reach out your hand,
there’s more.