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Thoughts Upon Hearing of the Taiwan Earthquake

Big earthquake in Taiwan. My first concern:
“Will China take advantage and attack?”
Why did that cross my mind? Where did I learn
To think like that? My brain is out of whack!

My wife reminds me that someone we know

Is in Taipei to visit with her brother.

What will such people do? Where will they go?

Our neighbor is her very worried mother.

 

Conspiracy is in the air before

The dust has settled. China! Did they make

A bomb go off deep on the ocean floor

That caused tectonic plates to shake and bake?

 

Who knows? But I live on a Northwest shore

Where a tsunami watch could be in store.

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James A. Tweedie is a retired pastor living in Long Beach, Washington. He has written and published six novels, one collection of short stories, and three collections of poetry including Mostly Sonnets, all with Dunecrest Press. His poems have been published nationally and internationally in The Lyric, Poetry Salzburg (Austria) Review, California Quarterly, Asses of Parnassus, Lighten Up Online, Better than Starbucks, Dwell Time, Light, Deronda Review, The Road Not Taken, Fevers of the Mind, Sparks of Calliope, Dancing Poetry, WestWard Quarterly, Society of Classical Poets, and The Chained Muse. He was honored with being chosen as the winner of the 2021 SCP International Poetry Competition.

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11 Responses

  1. Julian D. Woodruff

    Brain out of whack? Maybe, but I had the same thought. (But not about the CCP causing the quake, I must admit.)
    .

    Reply
  2. Paul A. Freeman

    China’s taking note of Ru Russia’s annexation and is flexing its muscles in the South China Sea.

    There was a conspiracy theory that the US caused the Boxing Day tsunami by laying nukes at either end of a fault line.

    Great poem, by the way.

    Reply
    • Paul A. Freeman

      Apparently the idea was that the US would cause the 2004 tsunami, then come in with a load of aid and the countries affected by the tsunami would become firm US allies.

      It’s amazing how these improbable conspiracy theories get recycled to suit new circumstances.

      Reply
      • James A. Tweedie

        i hadn’t heard that one. And there’s the one about the man who, during the depression. ate an entire car.

        (that one’s true, by the way).

  3. Evan Mantyk

    Thank you for the timely poem, Jim. I have a number of good friends there now. I’m sure they are fine, but haven’t talked to them yet. The last line of your poem seems especially ominous.

    Reply
  4. Margaret Coats

    James, you’re entering the twilight zone–but there’s company. In 2010, Venezuelan President Chavez blamed the disastrous Haitian earthquake on a United States research facility in Alaska. And just last year, a Turkish legislator blamed the big one in Turkey on the same facility. Have some good coffee, but make it a French roast.

    Reply
  5. Warren Bonham

    China has been openly hard at work to destabilize the West. Unleashing Tik Tok on us has messed up an entire generation of kids. The release of the Covid virus, even if it was unintentional, also had a devastating impact. It’s not unreasonable to think that they have many other schemes in place (maybe even attacking our network of bridges?) to bring us to our knees. Thanks for ringing the alarm bells.

    Reply
  6. Roy Eugene Peterson

    Timely, provocative, and frightening. I pray friends and relatives will be well.

    Reply
  7. C.B. Anderson

    Yes, James. Compared to what might be in store for Taiwan, an earthquake would seem like a godsend. The disposition of the USA, in its current state of unreadiness, will be of no avail. God help all of us.

    Reply
  8. Mia

    I experienced a few minor earthquakes and it is extremely frightening let alone when it has such an impact.
    I read yesterday that there was an earthquake in New York too?
    One after the other is worrying.
    It makes this poem very pertinent in many ways.
    Thank you for this thoughtful and thought provoking poem.

    Reply
    • Joseph S. Salemi

      The earthquake you mention occurred in New Jersey (near the small town of Lebanon), but tremors were felt in New York City and in upstate New York. Small quakes of this sort are rare in this area, but they do happen now and then.

      Reply

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