Ode to New Orleans ... for the people!

Seven years ago-Katrina .. what more need I say? For The People who suffered and still suffer from the devastation of Katrina!

The world through the eyes of a child
I don't remember being a child 
I wonder about these children
The ones who are no longer sleeping in their beds
now they are sleeping on mats or cots in a strange place
many strangers surrounding them 
what do they feel?

The world through the eyes of a Mother
Her home gone her kitchen she loved so much
where she cooked her family their favorite meals shrimp gumbo
red beans and rice and iced tea always fresh in the refrigerator
the refrigerator that is now floating amongst bodies ravaged by the poison waters

Her child, where is her child?
She saw her child rescued by a man in camos
now she can't find her
She knows her child well
she knows her child is sick with fright
the tired eyes of the woman fill with tears
as she lies on a cot in a strange place among strangers

The world through the eyes of a dog
a big reddish-brown dog with huge brown eyes
that look
bewildered
nervous
skittish
she sits on the roof of the house 
wondering where the master is who fed her
brushed her and made her feel so good 
where is her master?
Her eyes are sad she is afraid her master has left her
she thinks she must have been a bad doggie
her tail droops between her legs and she cries , she cries
yes, dogs cry

The world through the eyes of an old man who is poor 
homeless yet again as his street corner is gone he no longer can sleep on his bench
he looks for help and sees no one

The world through the eyes of a city
Her people dead and dying 
she has let them down
she tried to keep them safe she cries and feels her soil rotting in the muddy water of decay and death

The world through the eye's of a nation
Horror fills their minds

Disbelief
Rage
Anger
Hurt
Hearts broken
Curses
Blame
Courage
Faith
Generosity
Love
Strength
Sympathy
Thankfulness for their dry homes
Full stomachs
Hydration

The nation weeps with the child
mother, dog, the homeless, the city
The people's eyes shed tears
The people's eyes hold dear all they love
The people have seen how in a blink of an eye all can be gone

Sadness
That  one word
Does not convey the horror of this day
Hearts open
helping hands
we will survive
eyes will dry
as will the city

Show your love today
Be kind to each other
Don't ever forget
Nothing is forever

And they called them refugees.. they are victims.
Thrown all across the country, families torn apart, dead lying for days on streets and freeways.. too much horror to imagine. Yet it happened and we all saw .. and all who have a heart cried for these people and our beloved New Orleans... a City I have always felt a kinship with.

Author's Note

Katrina was mild compared to Japan so since i can't write about Japan now this is to acknowledge them also -Millions in Japan without food or water-entire families washed away ... I can only imagine.

Wrote this when Katrina drowned New Orleans .. that was one of the worst fiasco's of Bush's administration.. one of MANY.. i wrote this quickly as i was upset felt like pouring out my thoughts and frustration.. sorry for any typos .. got tired of looking for the former reviews.. just a piece i feel strongly about.. it is somewhat a story too i reckon. I wrote it for the People.. the people not the 'refugees' as they were called .. THE PEOPLE .

Reviews

[E. M. Murren]

Beautiful tribute. It is even sadder when you realize that it could have been avoided had they fixed the levy in 1998 when the bill came before congress... but the Replican majority didn't think it worth the investment. I have a lot of anger about this. To me they killed all those people through neglecting their responsibilities... for what? A few tax cuts... woopie.

Sorry... gone political when you wrote a beautiful work of art. Really lovely work.

[De'Andre]

This is such a powerful poem. Great write, great tribute, great job.

[Tate Morgan]

We all bled for them THis is touching

[deeps]

Such an amazing tribute here. sad and heartfelt as well

[Coyote Poetry]

I been to New Orleans many times in my life. The city lost it core people. The beauty and the spirit of the old city has no equal in the USA. I hope she can heal quickly. I agree we reaction with slowness and carelessness for the people of New Orleans. A powerful poem. A excellent poem.
Coyote

[John McGrael]

this tribute is really really good!!!

again, i can see why you hold this so dear

i wish i could write a tribute like this one!!
i dont pride myself in the tributes i write.... :)
but this one is amazing

[LonelySoul]

those storms affected more than just a city,thank you for showing this in your work.Well done!

[VERONICA]

This is wonderful- incredibly heartfelt- and the images are fantastic!

I have a few comments: The past part "Today: 2008..." doesn't seem to fit and could and should be a piece by itself. It needs punctuation here and there to make it easier to read, and when you write what the nation is feeling you should definitely shorten "Thankfulness for their dry homes" to "thankfulness" or some other 1 or 2 words.

I too have a Katrina piece ("Three Years Later") check it out if you have a chance- I always find it so interesting to read pieces about this topic and the variety of view points and lenses they are seen from.

I could really feel you in this piece and that is why it's fantastic, I reccomend you tightening up the ending so it's more concise, but either way this is beautiful.

[.:Naiira Harlow:.]

Beautiful tribute. It's so sad to realize that all of that is true as well. I helped the relief for some of the families that suffered through hurricane katrina. My friends and I helped rebuild a few homes. Very lovely work!

[Pax Analog]

Beautiful, poignant, sad, enraging, appetite-inducing (shrimp gumbo, red beans, rice -- yum!). I love New Orleans. Had a wonderful, harrowing, strange, unforgettable romance there (and in L.A. & San Francisco) in '97-'98, with a unique woman I'm still friends with.

Everybody with a brain cell knows the Gorge War Bosh hijack was treason, and the heartbreaking Katrina fiasco just put an exclamation point on "Everything this cretin touches dies or turns to s**t." Famed trial lawyer Vincent Bugliosi has a book out "The Murder Trial of George W. Bush." Love to see that.

Well, it's time to get behind Obama. Those effin' Repubs are at it again, trying to put a "charismatic" face
on a ticket that includes a VP woman (looks like "Elaine" from Seinfeld w/archaic hair) who believes "Creationism" should be taught in schools. Uh-huh. And America isn't about separation of church and state, and the earth is flat. What the f**k is up with these people? Culture war: Salem vs. Monticello.

I'm just glad Gustav didn't destroy New Orleans again, tho' the hapless residents were obliged to evacuate yet again. Sigh. I'll sure be glad when all the levees are super-fixed, and we can think of NoLa (as the locals call it) as a wonderfully charming city with the greatest food and drink in the world, and just a soulfully great time -- instead of a tragic disaster site.

Thanks for your eloquent reminder of a great American city, and a disaster that need not happen on such a scale again, if more people get a f****n' voting clue.

Peace/Pax

[Damian Alan Gray]

Katrina's flood was nothing to the tears I still cry for my home. This helps. It's a lagniappe, Cloe. Thank you.