Tuesday 20 April 2010

Volcanic disruption



Fear. Not fear of the ash, but the self-made catastrophe waiting to happen. Already, faces absent from weddings and funerals; exams, interviews and surgery postponed. Voices raised in disbelief and protest as time, money, lives tumble together in the crater. Our power, speed, control, our dependence on constant growth, overbooking, tiny margins and the crazy web of just-in-time: all up in the air now, along with the cloud from Iceland. We’ve made ourselves too fragile, forgotten how to wait.


The notice to students about current travel delays posted on my university employers' website is wonderfully headed 'Volcanic disruption', 
so I thought I'd change my title and appropriate this.

7 comments:

alembic said...

I love how you move from the "ash" of ear to what lies under it, like the hot stuff inside the volcano, our forgetfulness, especially when it comes to waiting, which is about being in the moment, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

yes, yes, yes. said so beautifully all my concerns.

Jan said...

Beautifully said. Very powerful images that are so appropriate right now.

Fire Bird said...

...'forgotten how to wait'... exactly so

Dale said...

Yes, exactly.

Lucy said...

Spot on. Did you see or hear this - http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8626000/8626927.stm

?

Beth said...

Jean, sorry to be late, but I do like this poem very much indeed; it's what I feel and you've said it so beautifully.