Death By Water: Hurricane Katrina
Monday, April 26, 2010 2:06 PM
Nightly Newscast
“It’s 10 o’clock
Do you know where your children are?
(Beckoned the ominous voice
that echoed from the television)
“Live from New York City
You’re watching Fox News at Ten
We begin tonight with our top story
With breaking news from Weather
Yes, Jim (because there’s always a Jim)
There’s a mighty storm brewing
Or rather one that’s already in full force...”
(Sssshhhhhhhh said the TV)
HEY
I wanted to watch more of that you know!
It’s time for all the good little boys and girls
to go to sleep.
But I was never good.
Tulane
“So
there were
all these college kids
around all over there I remember
a lot of it before everything broke down.
Tulane was the name of the place,
strange college folk gathered
there, ‘college kids’ (chuckle)
Yes, sir they were
kids alright
But
no one deserves what happened to ‘em, or anyone else
Nightly Newscast II
She knew I was never
a good little boy.
(click said the remote)
“This is Fox News Late Edition
(You’d think all the insomniacs
had better things to do
than maintain rebroadcasts
of stale nightly news shows)
“And we’re back
Thank you for joining us
once again, we know this
might have been a hard day
for you depending on where
you were today
(Ssssshhhhhh)
I thought I told you to go to bed
But I’m not a good little boy
(She sighed) You’re right, you’re really
a misbehaving teenager. Now,
can you go to bed?
But I want to know what happened!
(She sighed again) In a nutshell
a hurricane named Katrina
hit the south like the iron horse
hit baseballs, so much so
that the levees broke around
New Orleans, and what was once
a city that was already a little bit
below sea level became
DBW
Please remember
All those who have died
But here, when you feel water
remember Louisiana and her children
Lives could have been spared and because of
W, we could not feel, we could not help. Pale and
Dim-witted, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, slept sound. And when
action could have been taken, silence (a breath under the door) left
New Orleans a horrific baptismal blur of water by Phlebas the Phoenician
with Death and All His Old Friends: Thousands of innocent lives that had
once made the whirled grave a living body, the one that gave you directions
when you couldn’t make heads or tales of the awful tourist map and all you
really wanted was some hot gumbo, sweet tea and spicy jambalaya
All of that, sucker punched by mother nature for no good reason
Choking on its own tears along with it’s people and then
the question has to be asked, how long, and I mean
this, How Long, does it take, to respond; nature’s
own prisoner, ‘Ugo, unlocked from the tower
is banging down your door? I guess
being oblivious is a delight far
sweeter than taffy.
For the record:
Five days.
National Geographic/Numbers
“Hurricane Katrina—a nightmare of a hurricane with
140-MILE-AN-HOUR
winds and a storm surge nearly
TWO STORIES
tall—came ashore early this morning at the mouth of the Mississippi River near New Orleans.
Oh My God! Kathy! Kathy!
“Katrina is the hurricane that emergency-management and government officials have long feared would strike New Orleans. Many of the Louisiana city's
500,000
residents live below sea level and are surrounded by the waters of the Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain, and several bays.
What John?
We have to go! We have to go!
Why?
Look out the window!
Hundreds of thousands
GET THE KIDS, OUR TIME IS NOT!
OUR TIME IS NOT!
of Gulf Coast residents evacuated on Saturday and Sunday as the forecasts for Hurricane Katrina became more ominous.
"All kinds of evacuations are going on, and shelters are filling up, There are shelters as far away as southeast Texas and all over central Louisiana."
“As Katrina took aim at the Louisiana coast Sunday, the hurricane became one of the most powerful storms to ever form in the Atlantic Ocean, with peak winds of
175 MILES-AN-HOUR
But the storm lost some of its power as it drew closer to the coast.
WE HAVE TO GO! WE HAVE TO
(Sshhhhhhhhh)
Superdome
And all the kings horses and all the kings men
packed and piled into the Superdome
Mothers, Fathers, Women and Children
huddled together in their new home
Screams and cries and lack of food
gave all the more time for Katrina to
strike, pillage and savage the land
she killed and her response? Oh you
What do you expect? I’m a hurricane!
I was born by Mother’s wooden spoon
to twist and churn the lives of all
like batter. Why? You buffoon!
Do you think I have any control?
DBW 2
And so, the land that was so ere forgot
Rebuilt itself (still rebuilding to this day)
It’s habitat somewhat restored
but never forgotten by humanity
Arthur Avenue
2:05 PM
I went to Arthur Avenue
The market place
a comfortable retreat
from the city's colder places
I can hear broken Italian
mixed with broken English
My grandfather buys green olives
and it makes me feel at home
CAFE 'AL MERCATO'S
has real chicken parm
I sat down with my grandfather
and we talked about life
I don't know how long I will have with him
82 years old and still as strong as a bull
The wisest man I've ever known
Will the world be as full of life after he is gone?
I miss him, I barely get to see him anymore
But sitting here at a table
in the marketplace is charming
and it makes me feel at home
He's worried about me
And there's no reason not to be
Everyday I get to see myself
inside a different stranger
Then we traveled
two blocks the way
to EGIDIO'S for coffee gelato
that tastes of real Italian espresso
I looked at my napkin
and saw the water that had
traveled down and pooled
from the plastic cup
I was being nourished from
and it made sense
when so little in this world
made sense anymore
When we were done
we got back into the car
and drove away
The market place
a comfortable retreat
from the city's colder places
I can hear broken Italian
mixed with broken English
My grandfather buys green olives
and it makes me feel at home
CAFE 'AL MERCATO'S
has real chicken parm
I sat down with my grandfather
and we talked about life
I don't know how long I will have with him
82 years old and still as strong as a bull
The wisest man I've ever known
Will the world be as full of life after he is gone?
I miss him, I barely get to see him anymore
But sitting here at a table
in the marketplace is charming
and it makes me feel at home
He's worried about me
And there's no reason not to be
Everyday I get to see myself
inside a different stranger
Then we traveled
two blocks the way
to EGIDIO'S for coffee gelato
that tastes of real Italian espresso
I looked at my napkin
and saw the water that had
traveled down and pooled
from the plastic cup
I was being nourished from
and it made sense
when so little in this world
made sense anymore
When we were done
we got back into the car
and drove away
Easy
2:04 PM
I wish it was innocent
When I'd check my phone
Every five seconds for a new text message
I'd tell him about the boys who came and went
and how he'd tell me
Shut Up! Don't make me jealous
Don't let them have what is mine.
and that tickled me pink
When I'd check my phone
Every five seconds for a new text message
I'd tell him about the boys who came and went
and how he'd tell me
Shut Up! Don't make me jealous
Don't let them have what is mine.
and that tickled me pink
Regina Spektor
1:52 PM
A song is a song is a song is a song
Round round round round round we go
A song is a song is a song is a song
Regina
Regina Spektor was not two combo platters short of a deck
Deck of cards
Pinochle! Play pinochle
Invite your friends
Listen, for the game is light
White is pure and twenty years of snow is cold
cold cold cold cold cold
Drink coke while drinking in kitsch
Soviet Kitsch
Start knitting, sew in by bobby pins
Bobby was a nice boy
before he fell out, shaved his head, pierced his left ear
and developed a clef
Bass Clef and Treble Clefs
the clefs we need for music that mends hearts
A song is a song is a song is a song
Round round round round round we go
A song is a song is a song is a song
Regina
Round round round round round we go
A song is a song is a song is a song
Regina
Regina Spektor was not two combo platters short of a deck
Deck of cards
Pinochle! Play pinochle
Invite your friends
Listen, for the game is light
White is pure and twenty years of snow is cold
cold cold cold cold cold
Drink coke while drinking in kitsch
Soviet Kitsch
Start knitting, sew in by bobby pins
Bobby was a nice boy
before he fell out, shaved his head, pierced his left ear
and developed a clef
Bass Clef and Treble Clefs
the clefs we need for music that mends hearts
A song is a song is a song is a song
Round round round round round we go
A song is a song is a song is a song
Regina
Late at Night
1:51 PM
Late at night I'd
whisper
sweet nothings into your
ears as you
curl up into
the blankets
And if the stars would
align with the moon
and with the wind
as I stood outside
in jeans and a sweatshirt
Who is it to say that
I am not a happy
genius of my household?
whisper
sweet nothings into your
ears as you
curl up into
the blankets
And if the stars would
align with the moon
and with the wind
as I stood outside
in jeans and a sweatshirt
Who is it to say that
I am not a happy
genius of my household?
Angel
1:49 PM
I am a dog
But I am not a filthy animal
I have no fleas
I just want to curl up next to you
And feel your skin brush against my fur
I am here for you
From the early morning
nestled between the table and the floor
To the night
yawning at the moon
and barking at the neighbors' dogs
all for you
I am here for you
For your good days and your bad
To catch in a warm embrace when you are happy
and to soak up your tears when you are sad
I cannot speak
but you can hear
what I am saying
I am a dog
But I am not a filthy animal
Just someone who loves you
But I am not a filthy animal
I have no fleas
I just want to curl up next to you
And feel your skin brush against my fur
I am here for you
From the early morning
nestled between the table and the floor
To the night
yawning at the moon
and barking at the neighbors' dogs
all for you
I am here for you
For your good days and your bad
To catch in a warm embrace when you are happy
and to soak up your tears when you are sad
I cannot speak
but you can hear
what I am saying
I am a dog
But I am not a filthy animal
Just someone who loves you