For Lac-Megantic, Quebec
Written/Narrated By Salem State University Poet Kristine Doll
For Lac-Mégantic, Québec
Death rolled down a hill
in the middle of the night
silent as snowfall
while everyone was sleeping
and dispatched an entire town.
Disguised as a train
freight loaded with flammables
it gave no time for
goodbyes, no second chances
no moment for contrition;
Metal against stone,
an apocalyptic blow
incinerating
wood and glass, bone and muscle
mothers, fathers, children, pets.
A supernova
of destruction hurtling through
oblivion and
out the other side, shockwaves
of cause and fatal effect.
Did Death have a map?
Were routes surveyed, plans made, an
itinerary
built upon human error,
failing brakes, poor choices?
A detour, perhaps,
from another locale made
to wait, unaware
of its reprieve seven miles
down track, where Death burned the night.
-Kristine Doll