She's a Natural Disaster
poetry, short story, horror, history, drama, action, non-fiction
Published on:
Apr. 13, 2008, 6:19pmWord Count:
696Work Description
Attempting one of the most remarkable forms ever conceived. I could never hope to get near his genius, but I hope you read and enjoy it anyway.
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Picked up the paper, had to laugh – “Crime Down in Deserted City”
Painted X’s on every home - number dead in a makeshift tomb
And the mayor in his wisdom put together a committee
Some neighborhoods are green space now – he tells us they’ll be pretty
Neighbors say it’s a pity
Just last summer we moved away. We make adjustments day by day
We miss the friends we left behind and sometimes we shed some tears
My children’s fears I try to calm. “Do they have hurricanes here, Mom?”
My friend back home told me today, “It seems we’re left. No one cares.”
The city is still in shambles though it’s been over two years
“We’re forgotten, it appears.”
And if you haven’t guessed by now – although I can’t imagine how
The woman’s name was Katrina and she’s somewhat infamous
I try not to discuss her much. It still makes me sad and such
Sometimes people who don’t understand share with me their disgust
“Why didn’t they leave? They were warned.” - “It had to do with distrust.”
Someday, I hope they’ll adjust
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Great poem, Elle!
I love how you personify Katrina as a kind of scorned woman. Hell hath no fury, right? The imagery is really powerful. You used powerful nouns and words to pain some very vibrant pictures. Especially "brooding", "ripped", "heaving" and "shriek", to name only a few.
Planned chaos you could see in her eye
Excellent double entendre. Works both for Katrina as a woman and as a hurricane.
The form you use is unusual, but I feel that it lends itself to the grandiose feeling I get out of this poem. Honestly, I'd like to hoist the term "epic" onto this one. And as it covers a contemporary event, it sounds like the kind of art that historians can look to many long centuries from now to learn about events.
A natural disaster - she
As simple as it may be, this is my favorite line because of how it sits in the poem.
Good work! Looking forward to more like it.
There is nothing to critique so I am left to comment. Your poem is terrific!!! I am in awe of writers who can masterfully write using unusual forms which require you to think about the form as much as you think about the content. Bravo!