It began as a whisper on the faraway wind,
became a ripple, a wrinkle, a swell,
traveled the world on airwaves, on ocean waves,
became a great wave itself:
a first, a second, a tsunami.
The whisper became a cacophonous roar
leaving destruction and debris
(broken friendships, broken plans,
empty businesses and bank accounts,
corpses without mourners)
in its wake.