Collection

(Note: this poem was inspired by the heartbreaking photograph below from the Los Angeles Times showing a young boy surrounded by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.)

A child sits atop a roof No one else in sight And wonders where his parents went (When the storm subsided) In total fright Debris nipping at his heels

He puts his mind in his hand Atop an elbow resting on a knee Such weights upon a little man Teddy bear lain at his feet Asking himself, "Why me?!" And, "Has the storm gone away?"

The rubble around him Screams out at his solitude His mind overwhelmed Wishing it were all a dream But sight attests the magnitude Of his LOSSES, and the losses

Even a voice would sooth However distant away Could it be they're gone forever Carried away by the wind So many things needed to say With no one there, to listen

"I'm hungry, now, I think" But where's his food In all this mess? Who'd bless it for a meal? "No matter, I've lost the mood" "Does anyone know how I feel?"