Blood, Water and Tears

a poem by Barrett Smith, age 11

I lead to a place where destruction rules

Where winds race and rush

Where water rises and crushes

Dead bodies lying idle

Above rooftops

You look at the houses torn down and lost

You look at the streets

Bodies and blood blending with water

The winds are murderer

The water their minion

You look at the houses with tears in your eyes

You look in the windows and wonder

Wonder what stories lay in this past

What deaths were brought in this past

And your thoughts are like claws

Slowly ripping you apart

Till you fall in a heap

Tears on the ground

Memories all around

This post was originally published on Open Salon, September 7, 2008. The poem was written by my daughter, Barrett Smith. This reprise is in remembrance of the devastation of hurricane Katrina as we approach the 10th anniversary.