by Susan Miller - Hollywood, Florida
Torrential rain, hurricanes, storms in the night
Natural disasters we're unable to fight
South Florida withstood a catagory 1 hurricane
A mild storm turned hostile, Katrina's her name
She uprooted trees, flying every which way
Power was lost here for many a day
Fuel, ice and water were hard to be found
Batteries fading, TVs silent of sound
This same day in August, thirteen years ago
Andrew hit Florida, we watched his winds blow
Destroying whatever crossed his violent path
Is this date a coincidence or God's vengeful wrath
Katrina left the Atlantic and continued to thrive
Gaining speed in the gulf she reached catagory 5
The worst hurricane the USA's ever seen
Landing predicted to be in New Orleans
Evacuate, leave the state, don't stick around
By any means possible travel to higher ground
The gulf coast is in for a horrible fate
Take your loved ones and go before it's too late
Katrina's winds violently struck the gulf coast
The eye hit Biloxi which seemed damaged the most
New Orleans' French Quarter at first seemed okay
Until the three levees breached later that day
Eight feet of water soon flooded the town
Folks climbed to their attics so not to drown
The poor, sick or elderly who could not stay at home
Were told to seek shelter in the Superdome
Days following Katrina, FEMA had still not arrived
There was no food or fresh water, causing many to die
The ill and the elderly needed something to eat
Others passed out from the unbearable heat
New Orleans should have been prepared for the worst
But nobody thought that the levees would burst
Despite reports stating that the dams weren't equipped
It's hard to barricade a storm as enormous as this
Our citizens' welfare should be priority one
Why dwell on or question what should have been done
Mistakes of the past make us stronger and wise
But blaming each other won't bring back lives
Hellicane category: SURVIVORS' Tales
2 comments:
really great poem! well spoken and thought out and intelligent
your poem is somewhat similiar to mine; city built below the sea. But I do think finger pointing is important here. these officials at local and fed levels who failed need to be held accountable. people need to admit their mistakes and apologize for their failures. we only learn from our mistakes if we actually take responsibilty for our actions, or in this case, lack thereof. Plus we must make sure this can never happen again. It should never have happened in the first place
Great poem. Keep writing. Maybe once we finish rebuilding Iraq (after we destroyed it in the first place) we can rebuild America? Old Chinese saying: "He who makes money from war wants to keep making money."
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