Natural Disaster

I.

You think I am normal;

I am not

I carry my camouflage well

These fashions

This hairstyle

These manners of speech

I am a good student

Of the ways of our society

So skilled at this craft

That my mask seems real

But

Look further, deeper

And you will see eyes

That burn and shy away

With secrets that they long to tell

That they dare not tell

Listen longer

And you will hear

The stutters and hesitations

Of one who does not speak her native tongue

 

II.

Normal is easy

But me

I am a bit more difficult

I will try your patience

I will leave you wondering

What monsoon passed through

Are you ready

For unpredictable natural disasters

Mine is not the slow steady melt of glaciers

But the chaos of avalanches

Throwing innocent bystanders off their steady footing

Into the abyss below

We make no apologies

This is our way

Take it or leave it

Do you want your life to be easy

Or filled with heroism and

Survival stories

I won’t blame you if you take off running

For the nearest blonde bomb shelter

But I can’t help but hope that

You might have some strong forces of your own

To make me carry an umbrella

Just in case