Memento Mori

The ground shook beneath my feet. Suddenly, the world crumbled before my eyes. The streets where I used to play split like a mighty river, revealing the world that lay beneath. From the remains of what used to be my home, I carefully treaded over the memory of what used to be my town.

I saw children who were dirty, naked, hurt, and afraid. Something deep inside me trembled as I thought of all those who would be hungry, orphaned, and forgotten. Would I ever see my family again? Who did I lose beneath this disaster? Who will be left to pick up the pieces of a city that fell like a picture off a shelf?

Blocks became indistinguishable from one another. I imaged what my home looked like before the dirt convulsed. I could no longer see the shop where I used to get treats on my way back from school. Where was the church my mother used to drag me to every Sunday morning? My old school was nothing more than garbage floating in an ocean of rubble.

My neighbors, my friends, my family – they have become nothing more than shadows. My people are reduced to nothing more than rising statistics, totaling over 500. My street, my house, my life – all gone in the tremor of a moment.

My home has open wounds, gashing in the people and on the streets. A crater is left on the grounds and in our hearts. Our hopes, crumbled like buildings. Our livelihood, our memories, our past are buried like the rest of the town. My home is nothing more than a pile of ashes.

I must look ahead, toward light and better days. Like a Phoenix we shall rise from ashes. I know our lost souls rest in Heaven and our survivors have overcome. From a pile of ashes my hope arises from the rubble laying on the street for the healing of my country. I know this too shall pass – I know this too we shall overcome.

#earthquake #disaster #hope