Tilt

A poem that seems appropriate

That morning, sunlight shines through the house in a different way.
Saul, wakes up, shakes Rachel, “My god, it’s happening, like they say -

Remember? ‘When the sun rises in the South and sets in the North,
heed the predictions in the Mayan calendar and astrology charts.’”

Staring at the strange bedroom light, Rachel recognizes the signs
and says, “The cards, too, have indicated a collapse soon of some kind.”

Saul sits up in bed and says, “Oh god, this is happening way too fast,
What’s next? The sun rising in the West?  How long can this last?”

He picks up his glasses, “We need time to understand what this means.”
Dressing, Rachel says, “It means Earth has moved on its axis, it seems.”

She wipes her jeans, “Miriam told me things were getting horrible -
in spite of what she knew, remember, we chose to live our lives like normal.

But what we do now will impact us years to come. Gas the car, go to the store.
We must get ourselves ready. In light of the days ahead, there will be a lot more

to this than simply the sun rising in the South and setting in the North.
Like the ancient Mayans said, everything to come will only get worse.”

Saul sighs at her prediction and silently sits, staring at his fingers.
“Let’s get moving,” Rachel says, “we, you and I together, must figure

how we survive this.” Saul says, “Maybe I should clear a room in the cellar
– soon we may want to stay there – but let’s hope things up here never

get that bad.” He slowly stands. “I guess, too, I better go out and buy a gun.
the very thing we never imagined in our lifetime has now begun-

what with the sunlight shining through the house in such a different way.
So too, you better call your spiritualist and see what she has to say.”

“Miriam told me she had a reoccurring vision of our cabin and us living
on the mountain.” Rachel says. “She saw the houses on our cul de sac burning-

we can’t hide around so many people, Saul, too much can go wrong. I believe
we are much too old to survive living in a cellar. Now is the time to leave.”

Saul, at the door, shakes his head. “We’re way too old to know what’s right.”
Rachel follows him to the steps, “Dear, you’re wrong. We should decide tonight,

but, for now, let’s prepare for what we need to close down the house and go.
It’s a hard drive to the cabin and I want to call the children and let them know.

‘A secluded vacation,’ that’s what I’ll say! They can join us at the cabin!
It would be nice, Saul, to see the kids again. This could be a good decision.”

“Has the world tilted there?” Saul asks. “I wonder what situation we’ll face
on the mountain. Did Miriam’s vision see this, perhaps, as our final resting place?”

“Miriam warned me, when the sun shines differently, anything can happen next.
But, she said, we’re too young to expect the sun, never again, to set in the west.”

 ****