Kerry “Doc” Pardue

KATRINA

A tropical storm
Gathers stream
Hits the city of jazz and gumbo

Winds blew hard
Destruction is extreme
Water, mud, and debris

Bodies float by
Helicopters in the sky
(no one hears our cries and screams)
We sit and wait for help to come

Four days pass then five nights too
Still no one comes
No food, no water, unbearable heat

Sixth day comes – is everyone dead?
Where is the help promised?
Come mercy warriors come

I urge you to come
Death is all around
I can’t hold out much longer

Babies born and babies die
Parents and grandparents succumb;
Miracles of life and sadness mixed

A city now gone
10,000 souls are lost
Surely this must not be our final Mardi Gras