Thursday, September 28, 2006

159. Katrina (in memory of the French Quarter)


by Byron Holder - Australia

ebb and flow, crash and blow
water rushes to and fro
give and take, provide, forsake
centuries toil laid to waste

bubble and boil, rocks to soil
the timeless power waits...
for little winds, spins and turns
to rouse the giant snake

howl and blow, flash and glow
the sword, the bow, the catapult throw
swirl and twirl, rip and hurl
the angel casts the crippling girl...

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

158. True Character

by Saran B. - New Orleans

"Crises always reveal a person's true character."

I went back home to New Orleans recently
to visit my parents and friends

I remember talking to my friends
and we were discussing
what our new plans were in the future

As I think about it
we are all blessed
with new ventures ahead of us
despite the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina

One friend I ran into
is now pursuing photography

Another friend received a promotion
and moved into a another town

And a another friend dedicated herself
to working with children

I am pursing my art, jewelry
and continuing my film work

God has a way of telling us
that we need to peal off the old layers
and see who we really are
and embrace what we are made to do
as God's children

God has our destinies written out
and sometimes, tragedies have a way
of making those destinies come true

So embrace who you really are
be true to yourself
and spread your talents among others
as Jesus did

156. When A Storm Comes This Way

by Dione Porche - New Orleans

When a storm comes this way
Struggle madly to get away

Come back to nothing
It is all lost
So here I sit

Sitting mindless, it went free
My body is doomed to stay with me

I cannot look back at what I have lost
Things can be replaced
But a broken heart
My heart has since been locked away

In pieces crumpled by the vandals
Whose friendships from the start
Were a gamble

No effort do I put forth
I can't just yet
I know the game
Valentines Day is not the same
Like every other holiday

Alone body, mind and soul
No where to go

No where to roam
Just looking around
This is not home

How do you recover when you know of a better life?
How do you live in dysfunction and strife?

I didnt choose to live this way
But suddenly it happened
When a storm came this way

155. Why


by Kira (a.k.a. the 13-year-old) - Texas

why do they play with our hearts
why do they act as if we aren't affected by it
why do they think we are nothing
why are we something
why do they doubt us
why do they treat us this way
why do they lie
why haven't they done somehting
why haven't they come
why do they ignore our fury
why do they lie
i only have one question
why?

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

154. The Horror Continues

Anthony Grabowski, poetry-soul - Connecticut

August 29, 2006 - one year to the day
Hurricane Katrina visited the USA

Politicians are in New Orleans making the rounds
A shattered city desperately trying to rebound

Louisiana and Mississippi seem to be doing well
New Orleans still looks like a living hell

They say billions have been spent
I wonder where all the money went

Watching all the replay coverage on the news
Listening to all the talking heads spew their views

In the meantime a city is in ruin
Does anyone in control know what they're doing?

The dignity of Human Beings was taken away
As Katrina paid a visit one year ago today

All the people displaced and all the tears
New Orleans, the once vibrant city

The corror contiues
What a pity

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.

152. Tears & Fears

Anthony Grabowski, poetry-soul - Connecticut



I see your faces full of fear
I see your eyes so filled with tears

I see your sadness, your grief and pain,
Your lives destroyed by the wind and rain

Mother Nature dealt a heavy blow
The levees failed and the water rose

No where to run or to hide
A city in ruins, many have died

The shock of uncertainty and disbelief
Hunger and thirst with no relief

The heat takes a toll and all we can see
Are your tears and fears across the T.V.

Many heroes rush in from the sky
To rescue people trapped inside

Feeling helpless, there is nothing we can do
But to pray to God that they will rescue you

Tens of thousands with nowhere to go
Trapped in this city where the water flowed

Days pass with no relief in sight
No food or drink for days and nights

Eyes filled with tears, faces express such fear
Destruction and devastation is everywhere

This is no dream; horror is before our eyes
Hunger, thirst, pain and cries!

The life of a city has been drowned by water
A frantic father searches for his daughter

Frightened children cling to their mothers
Sisters forever separated from their brothers

So many lives destroyed, hundreds are lost
A human tragedy, a tremendous cost

After many days help finally arrives
Many good loving people rush in to save lives

Five days of living hell that felt like years
Endless sorrow and lasting fears
So many eyes dripping with tears

151. Five Whole Days (After Hurricane Katrina)

by James L. O'Connor - Dallas, Texas

Five whole days we had five big breaks
The kind that turned our streets into lakes
Mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, son and daughter
had to break through their attics to escape the rising water

Five whole days we've been in near 100 degree heat
with no running water and hardly anything to eat
No lights, no phone, no motor car. Not a single luxury
Like Robinson Cruisoe as primative as can be

Five whole days we heard babies crying
then at every turn we saw people dying
Ain't took a bath, brushed our teeth nor our hair
everyday wore the same clothes and the same underwear.

Five whole days we fussed and cussed
it even brought out the worst in us
There were whites who were shooting
at Blacks they claimed to be looting
But when they do the same thing, it's called "surviving"
Who the %?..@ they think they fooling?

Five whole days we were catching hell all around
all of these choppers flying, not one of them came down
We've seen army trucks and air boats come around our hood
They had no food or water to give and that ain't good

Five whole days many of us from this city
believe that the rich elites had been trying to get Blacks out since
the 1960's
For years they said the levees couldn't hold up to this
yet, they were waiting for them to break. It's no wonder we're pissed

Five whole days, how long will it take
for us to hear horror stories about children getting raped
The Convention Center was a mess. The Superdome was a death trap
All of the crime in the old St. Thomas and Desire Projects couldn't
touch that

Five whole days were days that shouldn't have been
Our leaders were clueless and didn't know where to begin
It's been forty years since Betsy when my sister had drowned
And, after all this time, there was no clear plan when Katrina came
around?

Five whole days were the worst five days
Something shoulda been set up in the first five days
All of those busses and trains, boats and planes
They were left to sit through strong winds and heavy rains

When we were evacuated after those five days of madness
We went through a lot of pain, suffering, grief and sadness
Everything we had was washed away and destroyed
This was one disaster that was hard to avoid

After those five days, we were just about everywhere
But our families were separated and we can't find them anywhere
We don't know where they are, we don't know if they had survived
we're just hoping to see or hear from them again and we prayed that
they have not died

Many of us got good news, others bad
Some of us were happy, while others were sad
We tried to call by cell phone and other means of communication
trying to keep in touch after all of this death and devastation

Five whole days was a learning experience
letting us know right there and then
never to put your faith in an arrogant and clueless government
or those who claimed to be your friend

If anything, we must thank God (Allah, Jehovah or any other divine
name) that we're here today
Even though Katrina came in and took our homes, cars and lives away
Everything we had is gone, except our spirits
and it's ringing louder and stronger than any hardcore rap lyric

While we are trying to rebuild our lives for the better
We should take time out to pray for those who are still trying to get
their lives together
The Lord is our savior and to him we should pray
and thank him for getting us through those Five Whole Days

Hellicane category: SURVIVORS' Tales