what happened was

what happened was
that while you were extolling the virtues
of waffles and strong coffee,
across the bridge a small section of freeway
fell, caved in on itself, and though thank
God no one was killed and even the driver
of the big rig that caught on fire managed
to walk away, hail a taxi to the nearest hospital,
even though no permanent damage was done that day
you find it strange now, with the kind of hindsight
one gets after dramatic news stories, you find
the connection strange, that bridge separating
your breakfast from a freeway disaster,
you find it strange, the connection, any connection
really: the Virginia Tech shootings sidling up alongside
the beautiful spring day you woke up to that same morning;
the casualities of war rising at the same time
your own hopes are rising, something in your heart
steadied now, dependable; how, amid the larger shattering
of the planet you are finding fresh and lasting love.
and even though you want to be smart, stay alert,
learn to scan a campus or an airplane or a bus depot
with diligent acuity, you can't help your loose
and fuzzy cheerfulness, your eagerness to walk
the long, wide acreage of your one and only life.