by Michael Roque

During a 60-second air raid siren-
Pompeii becomes the norm of society.
With an eruption,
fire flashes across the sky,
bringing shopping bags to concrete,
crawling traffic to stop
and bustling streets to be abandoned for shelters,
where whole huddling neighborhoods meet.

During a 60-second air raid siren-
people left outside lie flat on the ground,
while the foundation of the city shakes.
A life of a million sounds
is replaced with a single song
sung by Chaos
with a chorus of booms,
distant and closing in-
boom-
BOom-
BOOM!

Following a 60-second air raid siren-
someone lies entombed
beneath a ceiling that failed to secure them-
A household of memories ripped apart,
while all else embrace silence and relief
in the hours until the eruptions restart-
until again faced with Pompeii-
air raid sirens,
bigger booms, hopes and racing hearts.

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Michael Roque, a Los Angeles native, now residing in the Middle East, embarked on his writing odyssey amidst the bleachers of Pasadena City College. His literary voyage has traversed continents, gracing the pages of esteemed publications such as Aurora Quarterly, Veridian Review, and CascadeJournal. You can find him on Instagram at @roquewrites2009.