Collection

Five whole days we had five big breaks The kind that turned our streets into lakes Mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, son and daughter had to break through their attics to escape the rising water

Five whole days we've been in near 100 degree heat with no running water and hardly anything to eat No lights, no phone, no motor car. Not a single luxury Like Robinson Cruisoe as primative as can be

Five whole days we heard babies crying then at every turn we saw people dying Ain't took a bath, brushed our teeth nor our hair everyday wore the same clothes and the same underwear.

Five whole days we fussed and cussed it even brought out the worst in us There were whites who were shooting at Blacks they claimed to be looting But when they do the same thing, it's called "surviving" Who the %?..@ they think they fooling?

Five whole days we were catching hell all around all of these choppers flying, not one of them came down We've seen army trucks and air boats come around our hood They had no food or water to give and that ain't good

Five whole days many of us from this city believe that the rich elites had been trying to get Blacks out since the 1960's For years they said the levees couldn't hold up to this yet, they were waiting for them to break. It's no wonder we're pissed

Five whole days, how long will it take for us to hear horror stories about children getting raped The Convention Center was a mess. The Superdome was a death trap All of the crime in the old St. Thomas and Desire Projects couldn't touch that

Five whole days were days that shouldn't have been Our leaders were clueless and didn't know where to begin It's been forty years since Betsy when my sister had drowned And, after all this time, there was no clear plan when Katrina came around?

Five whole days were the worst five days Something shoulda been set up in the first five days All of those busses and trains, boats and planes They were left to sit through strong winds and heavy rains

When we were evacuated after those five days of madness We went through a lot of pain, suffering, grief and sadness Everything we had was washed away and destroyed This was one disaster that was hard to avoid

After those five days, we were just about everywhere But our families were separated and we can't find them anywhere We don't know where they are, we don't know if they had survived we're just hoping to see or hear from them again and we prayed that they have not died

Many of us got good news, others bad Some of us were happy, while others were sad We tried to call by cell phone and other means of communication trying to keep in touch after all of this death and devastation

Five whole days was a learning experience letting us know right there and then never to put your faith in an arrogant and clueless government or those who claimed to be your friend

If anything, we must thank God (Allah, Jehovah or any other divine name) that we're here today Even though Katrina came in and took our homes, cars and lives away Everything we had is gone, except our spirits and it's ringing louder and stronger than any hardcore rap lyric

While we are trying to rebuild our lives for the better We should take time out to pray for those who are still trying to get their lives together The Lord is our savior and to him we should pray and thank him for getting us through those Five Whole Days