My Heart Goes Out to You

My reaction when I learned of Hurricane Gustav.

My heart goes out to you,
I went into your houses,
Shoveled the mud,
Cleared out the water,
Cleaned up the rubble,
I helped you rebuild,

 

You are a part of me now,

Your passion flows through my veins,

The determination and constant hope

Has given me a strength larger than myself,

You will never leave me,

But as I sit here,
Tears try to break the walls I have created,
Devastation is knocking at your door again,
The ones you love must leave once again,
And what we rebuilt,
What we worked so hard to bring back from the dead,
Might only die once again,
More water,
More mud,
More rubble,
Devastation,

My heart goes out to you,
My heart aches like you couldn't believe,
I wish to stop it,
To gain such strength and size to hold it back,
So it can't steal anymore lives,
No more lives,
Not this time,
God please,
Not this time,

So much devastation,
And so much rebuilding,
Were our efforts pointless?
Will they be crushed by another monster?
Oh how the tears wish to escape,
Wish to escape for you,
Oh New Orleans,
My heart goes out to you.

Author's Note

A little before the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I went into New Orleans and did disaster relief. I got to know the locals and hear their stories. My fingers brushed over the x's that told you whether or not all the inhabitants of house got out or if they died. I saw "HELP" written on the roofs and the lives destroyed... That city is a part of me now. Always will be. I am crying for them now. I'm crying for New Orleans.

Reviews

[Wildecat]

So sad to see that kind of destruciton. But admire you for pitching in to help.