“Soon first responders make a grim/assessment of the odd catastrophe.”
Berlin, 16 December 2022,
und so weiter (and so forth)
Disaster strikes just after 6 a.m.
A crack occurs, and then a blast blows through
the lobby of the Radisson into
the street. Soon first responders make a grim
assessment of the odd catastrophe.
That only one employee and one guest
are hurt is marvelous. As for the rest,
too few of fifteen hundred fish will see
another morning elsewhere. Theories start
to spread about what could have caused this kind
of failure. Engineering experts find
one notion sure-enough: things fall apart.
Did any sudden change in temperature
contribute to material fatigue
and lead to international intrigue?
American or German—none is sure.
A native Virginian, Jane Blanchard lives and writes in Georgia. Her work has recently appeared in The Classical Outlook and The Wallace Stevens Journal. Her latest collection is Metes and Bounds, which was released last year.
