Commemorating February 22nd, 2011: “Disintegration”
Spring blossom; valiant on a vacant (demolition) lot
Today is the second anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake of February 22, 2011 that killed 185 people, injured many more, and devastated the inner city and eastern and hill suburbs of our city, resulting in two years—so far—of demolition, emergency responses and repairs, and the slow beginnings of rebuild.
Because I wish to commemorate the event and both its immediate and more enduring aftermath, I am posting the poem Disintegration today, and will post the next entry in my “A Geography of Haarth” series tomorrow.
To see more of my earthquake poems, please click on the Earthquake Poems category in the right hand sidebar. You may also read Fault by Joanna Preston, this week’s featured poem on The Tuesday Poem Hub.
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Disintegration
black fractures into white
into light disintegrating
in sparks and shards
emptiness without form
form within emptiness
the rhythm of my heart
accelerating into hammer
strokes falling
onto glass splintering
earth fracturing water
jetting up everywhere
a dark tide
out of the void.
(c) Helen Lowe
Moving poem, Helen. Thinking of you, just like I was on that day when I heard the news.
Thank you, Marion, your thoughts are appreciated.
Thinking of you today (and Christchurch in general). It’s been a tough couple of years and I know it’s nowhere near being over yet. But there seems to be a real buzz coming out of Christchurch recently so I hope that means good things are happening, and will continue to do so.
Jennifer, it has been very tough and probably will continue to be so for some time. But there are always good things and good people—we just have to look for them.
What a lovely poem, it has certainly been a strange and difficult time for many people. My husband and I moved to Australia at the end of last year, definitely time to move on for us.
Kia Kaha
Kelly x
Hi Kelly, I’m glad you got something out of the poem.:) Sometimes, too, moving on in the sense of moving away is absolutely the right decision, so I hope you and your husband are enjoying Australia. I saw your 22 February post on your site: was your husband in the PGC building? It certainly sounds as though he–and you–had quite a time of it, so I hope the shift works out for you both.