Ameritrice

the Appennines shrugged off the quaint hill-town
a thousand years of masonry is dust
like time accelerated, all falls down
as tremors rearrange the local crust
the Shaker of the Earth sleeps fitfully
and isn't limited to his sea-bed
each episode in the orogeny
sets Church Bells ringing as they toll the dead
as Europe's rammed by Africa's long arm
the Alps uplift and Italy subducts
what's built in stone is in the path of harm
and government seismologists get fucked
Eternal City on transient hills
can't duck geology, and all its ills