This Dog

Molly scratching


This dog

We are fleas upon this dog
hopping about sucking
searching for a vein
persisting in synthetic dreams
vinylblue pools golfcourse green grass
rejuvenated monthly with fertilizers
insecticides fungicides

We sculpt the land
cut trees for paradise
hurry-up highways
lace the air with unseen gases
deadly vapors so thick
we cannot see the views
we cut the trees for

We pump heavy metals
surgical leftovers into the sea
sit in the sun risking
cancerous complexions
on oil slicked beaches
where dolphins lie dead

And this dog keeps spinning
chasing her tail
trying to scratch chew
nibble and shake the pain away

Jzr


In December, 2004, a 450-foot deep well in Christiansburg, Virginia recorded the magnitutde-9 Sumatran earthquake which resulted in the devastating tsunami which took untold numbers of lives and changed the lay of land in that part of the world. The well first gained attention in 1985 after a magnitude-8 earthquake hit Mexico City. At the time, a 7-foot fluctuation in groundwater levels was recorded.

Just a week or so ago after a 7.9-magnitude quake struck near Tonga, some 34 miles beneath the earth's surface, seismic waves again rolled through the area. At the time of the quake, the waves began traveling about 7,400 mph and in less than an hour had traveled 7,200 miles to be registered here in the Commonwealth of Virginia at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality monitoring well. Apparently seismic waves "compress and expand fractures" in the well, pulling water in and then forcing it back out. This time, recording devices measured oscillations of less than 6 inches.

The well has also registered quakes in Japan, Chile, Nicaragua, Pakistan and Indonesia. It is monitored every five minutes for seismic activity around the world.