Sharon Olds - Quake Theory lyrics

When two plates of earth scrape along each other like a mother and daughter it is called a fault. There are faults that slip smoothly past each other an inch a year, just a faint rasp like a man running his hand over his chin, that man between us, and there are faults that get stuck at a bend for twenty years. The ridge bulges up like a father's sarcastic forehead and the whole thing freezes in place, the man between us. When this happens, there will be heavy damage to industrial areas and leisure residence when the deep plates finally jerk past the terrible pressure of their contact. The earth cracks and innocent people slip gently in like swimmers.