7/29

we are told
the saurian giants
of the cretaceous
were destroyed
by an asteroid
impacting the earth
at hundreds of thousands
of kilometers per hour--

with power enough
to heat the air before it
to temps exceeding
the surface of the sun

--launching a
shock wave @ velocities
approaching the speed of light

& a roiling cloud of darkness
--silent--
faster than sound--
engulfing the horizon
--annihilating on impact

followed by
--hurricanes of burning stone
--a twilight darkness covering the planet
--months? years?
of sunless days
-- a millennia
of climatic instability

asteroid strikes--
say astronomers--
are not predictable--
unlikely to be noted by
scope or radar--

unseen
before atmospheric contact
ignites a fireball
(a second or so before impact)

otherwise--
complete surprise