Ordered to silence,
Lest the catastrophe worsen,
The survivors scurry,
Wordless and afraid,
Along a narrow path
In a scrub woods
Which public diligence
And private funds
Soon bless with plantings
And statues and drains
And a plank walk
Christened Serenity Ramble,
As noiseless in peace as in panic
Because command is now tradition
And the law's the lore.
So over the strollers
Quiet reigns,
Give or take a few coughs.
Bernard Goldhirsch is the author of "Something Else," a poetry collection. He lives in Springs.