Earthquake in Almaden
None softer than the Almaden
Rounded hills,
Their flashing green curves
Dulled by summer shades.
Valley alluvium flat,
Smooth-coifed brunette
Soil, ready for planting
In rich furrows.
Fearfully, I think I would like
To see grasses waved
By subsoil winds
Of controlled magnitude,
But when the house shudders,
I grope toward people
And not the land,
Which ignores me.
May 7, 1979
