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Drivers out on the bridge Slowing down as they go through a lane shift Wires snap Concrete gives Metal twisting and Everything tumbling At the end of the work day Stuck in traffic, don't feel when the road sways Underneath Concrete gives Metal twisting and Everything tumbling To their partners and kids Don't suspect anything till the bridge splits Wires snap Concrete gives Metal twisting and Everything tumbling Down Where I sat I saw brake lights flash And I pictured them: all the people, their faces in free fall, the water beneath I pushed my palms against the table hard to see if it hurt Were it glass would I have shattered it? Could I battle every impulse to panic and then win Swim out through the metal twisting upward like a sculpture Or some terrible beast? People trapped in their cars Put both feet on the glass and then kick hard Water pours in Seatbelts twist River flowing and Everything going down People under the water line Workers sift through the wreckage of it, find Seatbelts stuck Water fills up River flowing and Everything going downstream On the dining room wall, I watched it Play in the reflection of the television The reversal in the mirror hung, I could see it all How the dust clouds gather color as they billow out Shades change shifting in the night From the lights atop an ambulance Like a firework's flash then that otherworldly glow In the smoke thrown in the aftermath blows Almost frozen for a moment there I could see it all Every dust cloud Shattered glass Billow out on the TV Wires snap And the concrete gives Metal twists up and onward I can see it all Every dust cloud Shattered glass Billow out on the TV Wires snap And the concrete gives in Metal twists up and onward I watch And I can see it all All the wreckage All the cars piled In the river and the rail yard The metal twists Wires snap Concrete blocks split And dangle from tie rods And metal twists up Wires sway When a breeze blows In the distant Sirens glow I can see it all Where they look for survivors Searchlights float Change the color of smoke clouds And shadows still fall People under the water People trapped in their cars Kick and try to get out People still with their seat belts on Pets they had in the back And car seats And I watch it on TV lying down here On the floor in the dining room, reversed in the mirror Where I know I'm not dreaming now But I know I've been sleeping I just don't know since when I only know that it's light outside I only know that the rent is still late When did they find out the concrete gave? When did they learn that the wires snapped?