Dead Silence (Poem)

Dead Silence

The roses have been abandoned
in the village of Kuta Rakyat,

the ash from the erupting Mount
Sinabung collected in the spaces

between the slips of the creamy
soft-lipped petals. Two hundred

twenty times a week the volcano
straddling the Pacific Ring of Fire

spews its face powders into air,
the pyroclastic flow on all flanks

racing with hurricane-force speed.
Unpicked coffee beans lie in paths

of too-hot lava runs, a dog goes down
in a plumed dome of smoke, and rice

already harvested is emptied again
from wooden bowls. There are rocks

being thrown from heaven. The chili
trees wither and once-bright skins

of oranges bear crusty coats forbidden
to the masked children still showing

up for school lessons. Among gnarled
grey-black stalks, a single hibiscus

flower rises like a cup of red wine.
When lightning strikes, the ringing

of cell phones ends in dead silence.

© 2014 Maureen E. Doallas
__________________________________

Indonesia's Mount Sinabung has been erupting for weeks now, displacing tens of thousands, destroying crops, and threatening native flora and fauna. The stunning photographs of the eruption are the inspiration for this poem.