Texas writers have struggled to make meaning out of the way in which the winds & floods of Hurricane Harvey battered our state. I am sure that writers in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and parts of Florida face some of the same questions.
Writing is my refuge and the air into which I release my fears (when joyful, I dance or laugh with my son or my sisters). I could not write about Harvey at first, it felt too fresh, but the catharsis of words and the supportive spirit of the Houston writing community have led me to process my experience on the page. A Boston gal, my understanding of intense disasters consisted of blizzards and ice storms. During these storms, New Englanders went without power and oil heat for days, some were lost to black ice or, in some tragic, extreme cases, froze to death. But I never faced the specter of families and houses washed away by flood waters. I also discovered I am very afraid of tornadoes, a fear that had no reason to bloom in Boston. Blessed, my family emerged from Harvey wounded only by strong emotions. Many Texans, including some of my friends and colleagues, were not so lucky.
Poetry helped me process the fear, confusion and sadness for my community that washed over me even as the flood waters receded. Volunteering when I could to help with the recovery efforts, I was lucky to find time to put pen to paper. I also had the good fortune of bringing together a healing through creativity project with the indefatigable writer Jody T. Morse. I am pleased to share my own poem about Harvey below. Humbled, I also share a link to the poignant Hurricane Haiku written by emerging and established writers of the Gulf Coast.
OUR SHELTER IN PLACE
Hiding
in our leather coat burrow
lantern-lit, reading
Dragons Love Tacos
over the roaring of iPhone
alarms.
Eyeing PowerBars
stowed, safe, in Tupperware
Enough water,
Enough water?
Enough water
standing sentry
in its own family
of plastic jugs.
Restless toes
tapping on the green, dusty rug-
haven found
in a muddy boy’s
keen, wary
laughter.
I encourage you to read the moving, vivid Hurricane Haiku of Gulf Coast poets as curated by Jody T. Morse. Explore the pain and healing of this haiku at: http://spiderroadpress.com/hurricane-harvey-healing-through-creativity-a-haiku-collaboration/
