The moment the light broke the atmosphere—
a swirling seal of lost hopes, curses and fears—
the sky unrolled into a dark canvas,
earth and dust ripped open as if in thirst:
a vulture dropped the dead, its beak agape;
a sea lion stopped its chase of a school of hake;
a wolf broke its fang on a trudging bison;
a shepherd saw his sheep in a speleogen;
the retina of a pilot went aflame;
a man with dementia recalled his wife’s name;
a chef laid down his knife, staring at the screen;
a pregnant woman’s dress unravelled at its seams;
a cobbler hit a final nail through a sole;
the jacuzzi of a tycoon ceased to flow;
an artist splashed crimson over her sculpture;
stones split apart in the Holy Sepulchre;
the moment was not lost on the few who yearned,
not recognised by those who never learned,
and not welcomed by those who did but refused,
but there it was, and none shall be amused.