153. Spirit Will Get Us Through

by a. hoper - New Orleans, Louisiana

It’s hard living here... in New Orleans. It’s post-Katrina.
The storm ruined everything. No one’s here. Flooded houses.
Flooded buildings. Flooded cars. Flooded people.

It’s hard to live here. Most people don’t understand.
They’re done with New Orleans - that happened almost a year ago. They’ve forgotten. But we haven’t. We won’t ever forget. No one who lives here will ever forget.

It’s too hard. Because everywhere you go is KATRINA.
Water lines on every other building. Cars sitting on neutral ground . . . still waiting to be picked up. Debris everywhere. Cars, houses, boats, furniture, EVERYWHERE.

Most people’s houses are just being gutted. They aren’t finished yet.
This city won’t be like before in a very long time. Maybe 10 years.
I don’t think I can wait that long. I love it here.

But most of all how about the people who lost everything . . . how long can they wait? And what are they waiting for?
They have no homes or belongings to come back to.

But maybe, that’s not the important thing.
Maybe the important thing is the city they left. That was flooded too.
That got broken too. And how long can people here hold on?
When they have nothing to hold on to? I guess all they have are spirits.

They’re coming back to a city of spirit. And that’s about it.
But spirit is good. It’s what gets us going.
So someday there will be something here. Something to call home.

It will be the same again. It has too. Because it’s New Orleans. It’s important.
But in the meantime I guess we just have to wait.