-5-
The aftermath years
Became a burden.
She struggled
To hang on
To what was sane.
She couldn’t overcome
The frustration,
Or the pain.
She seemed to internalize
Some secret blame.
They only needed a little more,
And then they could move away,
Away from this place.
He was willing to,
As he always said,
“Just go for it.”
But she convinced him,
One more trip at sea,
Then it would be,
As she said,
“Much easier.”
But now,
She remained,
They hadn’t thought
About a hurricane.
Now the hurricane
Was simply life.
She abandoned her gardens,
Her flowers,
Her child.
As she hardened
She abandoned
All her loves.
She let them fall
Away from her
And just grow wild.
The 2nd anniversary of the storm,
She summoned “Grandmother,”
To come and care
For Emily,
Her little girl.
“Please come,
I need your help
Only for a while.”
-6-
The next Sunday,
Just a day after
“Grandma” had arrived,
Before the sun
Had even begun to rise,
She abandoned herself.
They found her
In the little room,
A note pinned
On the door,
“I love you Emily,
So much,
Please find it
In your heart
To forgive me.
But I can’t go on like this
Anymore. . . "
An old lady
And a little girl
Packed their few belongings,
They moved from
The small, beaten down, Port town.
They moved to the city,
Where memories could be lost.
Where new lives could be found.
The house remained abandoned
When the oil fields
And the economy
Went dry.
Many others-
Whose dreams had gone awry-
Left the little town too.
All the town was,
All it had been,
All it hoped to be,
Became memories
Better left to die
In storms at sea..
continued
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