Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Hurricane!



Words entering ears
Grabbing and shaking
Is this real?

Preparations take place
Direct hit?
Complete miss?
Anxiety abounds

Hours turn to days
Words confirm the worst
Impending doom
Becoming reality

Rain falls harder
Along with the tears
Winds blow stronger
Taking all sense of control

The storm quiets
Destruction seen
Trees no longer standing
Power gone

Trees along the fence at front of our property

Grass covered land
Now holding water
Rising higher and higher
Will it stop? 

The back of our house in the aftermath of the storm

Shingles of protection
Winds ripping away
Roof no longer defending
All things underneath

My husband, stopping the leaks

Rain and wind pounding
Changing the structure
Never the same

Effects now visible
Attic items moved
Away from the water
Dripping . . . dripping

A foot unexpectedly
Stepping
Through a wet ceiling
Not falling
Into the the room below

My entire leg fell through. Luckily the rest of me did not.

Mold growing and spreading
Insurance claims
Repairing, rebuilding
Takes time

Our garage ceiling

More destruction follows
Rivers incapable of containing the swell
Breaching the banks

Holland Shelter Restaurant in Pender County

Killing people and livestock 
Destroying homes
Leaving people and pets
Displaced, now homeless
Hungry and wet

Posted on Facebook by Pender County Emergency Management

In the aftermath
Harm continues . . .

Mosquitoes breeding exponentially
Larvae becoming pupae
Emerging from watery wombs
Relentlessly attacking
Upon opening the door
Forcing refuge
Away from the swarm

Hurricane gone
Help arriving from everywhere!
Bringing calming relief
Thankful for all

Pender County Emergency Management Posting

Is this story about hurricanes or cancer
I wonder?

Thick with similarities 
The winds of uncertainty
Never stop blowing

Cells 
Growing into a frenzy
Destroying, killing
Treatments flowing through blood
Changing, damaging
The body 

The onslaught of either
Resembling watery roadways
Impossible to maneuver
Causing cancelled infusions
Medications delayed
Possible progression
Potential for death

As with a hurricane
Time moves forward
Coping mechanisms kick-in
The winds of acceptance
Ebbing and flowing
Depending

For some
Unfortunately
Stormy conditions remain
Long after its landing
Leaving us searching
For that showcase of hope
In a beautiful rainbow
That the flooding will stop

Clouds moving on
The sun peeking through
Shining life into all
Once again

My front yard before hurricanes Matthew and Florence destroyed the trees along our fence.