Were You There When the Earth Shook
1989 Quake, October 17
I was there
Hustling battle of the Bay T-shirts
World Series
On Mission St Eastbay Terminal
Then the shaking
Bricks fell off buildings
Latina woman pulled me into cove for safety
Caught bus to Oakland
On the bridge
It fell car went down
We walked back to terminal
Went to Tenderloin for Crack
TL dark
Arabs selling liquor candle light
Niggas line up
Enter one by one
Get Crack rent SRO room
Hindu Hilton
Smoke get paranoid
Run down Market Street
People running to and fro
Shocked going coming
Walking running in middle of Market St
No BART
Headed to Ferry
Street flooded
Stopped at Embarcadero hotel
Guests eating outside
Join them
Feel safe with white people
Tenderloin too dark
Darkies looting
Glad I escaped TL
Spooked
Cool now
White folks cool
Hotel serving wine
Giving blankets
Soon wanted ferry ride home
Waded water across Embarcadero
White man coming back
I say think I can get on ferry
He say yeah you and ten thousand others!
Got to ferry
He was right
Ten thousand people trying to get ferry to Oakland
Saw blacks with glow lights
Pushing through crowd
Got behind them
Pushed too
We got on
Praise be to Allah
Got to Jack London Square
Stopped at Merriot for drink
Called estranged woman
She say come on over
Crack head fucker!
And then came Xmas in October
Vouchers for food clothes
Hotel restaurant first last rent
Furniture beds refrigerator washer and dryer
Niggas in new suits pushing shopping carts
Eating steak lobster at Sizzler
Vouchers
Sell steak lobster outside Sizzler
For Crack
Trade vouchers to dope dealer for Crack
Nigga Xmas in October
Freeway fell
Brother in-law saved people
Fake news said niggas was stealing from the Dead
Niggas don't save people
Niggas steal!
And so it is!
--Marvin X
10/17/19
