Ground zero

Time swayed and snapped
And then the world was a puzzle
Of a billion pieces
Scattered and fluttering
Slow motion in the wind
Like half-burned paper money
Like so many plucked butterfly wings
Sometimes settling into a neat little
Helpless pile, remnants of love
Ravaged and salvaged
Neat little frozen frames of time
Before it swayed and snapped
After the world was a puzzle
A riddle
A billion prayers
Deafening,
So quiet.