Implosion

The video of the hotel implosion
shows a single shadow shading
a vacant second story window
seconds before the primer charge
signals detonation. A sudden snap
shifts the building base to a shiver

like an upside down mushroom
teetering on its own blasting cap.
From under a fumbling foundation
explodes the bulging cloud
of gritty dust, gray against the light
of a downtown Houston sunrise.

The shadow’s blurry black form
defies the thorough crew’s pre-contact
preparations, double and triple-checking
connections, lead lines, triggers,
and the minimum amount of RDX
needed to level the building to its footprint.

Controlled implosions are used expertly
to limit collateral damage. The bulky
buildings scraping the soaring sky
around the target see dust and rumble
but stay standing even after the blast.
The same isn’t true of the suicide

and the shaking souls left solitary
stuck and struck in the windowless ashes
of imploded lives. To see tomorrow’s sky,
the spectators struggle through twisted
dreams and crumpled memories
towards a new break of dim, dusty light.