The Fairy Wand’s Catastrophe

Every exogenous shock seeks out
An ideal vulnerability.
This is true for civilizations;

This is true among human bodies.
Where one takes a hard fall and rises,
Laughing, a colossus of raw health,

Pleased with itself, largely unaware
Of how tenuous its good fortune,
Another can’t get back off the ground

And now depends on fortuitous
Mercies for any recovery.
That one’s well aware of fortune’s role.

This is true for individuals;
This is true for civilizations.
Shock seeks out vulnerability.