Text
Dedicated to all those that Survived and died in the path of Category four Hurricane Harvey
August 29, 2017
Life Goes On
By
Juanita Garcia Vera
Sometimes a lifetime
Is but one brief moment
It’s the brightest star
In the boundless star studied sky
Beautiful beyond belief
Here, but a moment in time
Yet, it lingers in the heart
Like the splendor
Of a million smiles of Sunshine
The rains kept pounding on the roofs
And in the minds of millions
All praying for the best
But, for four days,
It rained without end
Sometimes it was hard as Hail
Pounding away peace of mind
Other times
Softly silent like the tearful drops of pain
That swept away the labor of a lifetime
Sprawled across the screens
The scenes of doom, fear and powerlessness
A child shivering in the rain clinging to her mother’s lifeless body
Cold and crying but alive
Two generations gone in an instant in view of all
The family tree, its history and future lost in time
Lives snapped away while parents prayed
Their hearts drowning in pain and loss
People overpowered by the rising streams clung to trees
Life hanging on a string
Highways and neighborhoods were water filled tombs
An end of watch for a veteran Officer
While a wife and children cried fearing the worse
A baby slips from the arms of it‘s mother
Who clings to a tree branch above a rushing stream
I’ve seen and heard so much and been touched
And quietly hurt for those affected
Yet, tears can’t heal the pain left behind
Now, we wait for the subsiding water
To rip out the decay and clear debris
But, today the Sun rose, birds sang
The Butterflies and Bees labored
As survivors worked cleaning up
Trying to gain control of their lives
Helping each other with food ,shelter and love
Harvey brought so much to a divided society
But if we have gained anything from this storm
It is that Life is precious and all other differences,
Prejudices and erroneous ideas have no room to linger
Heroes are ordinary people
Making extraordinary sacrifices
risking life and limb
To help total strangers and neighbors
There are still those hardened Souls
That scuff and make light of others hardships
And those too have come disguised as aides
Like vultures circling a corpse
They wait to consume those in need
Thank God all is well with you
Be thankful for this day
For there might not be another coming our way again
© Juanita Garcia Vera
Houston, Texas
August 29, 2017
Life Goes On
By
Juanita Garcia Vera
Sometimes a lifetime
Is but one brief moment
It’s the brightest star
In the boundless star studied sky
Beautiful beyond belief
Here, but a moment in time
Yet, it lingers in the heart
Like the splendor
Of a million smiles of Sunshine
The rains kept pounding on the roofs
And in the minds of millions
All praying for the best
But, for four days,
It rained without end
Sometimes it was hard as Hail
Pounding away peace of mind
Other times
Softly silent like the tearful drops of pain
That swept away the labor of a lifetime
Sprawled across the screens
The scenes of doom, fear and powerlessness
A child shivering in the rain clinging to her mother’s lifeless body
Cold and crying but alive
Two generations gone in an instant in view of all
The family tree, its history and future lost in time
Lives snapped away while parents prayed
Their hearts drowning in pain and loss
People overpowered by the rising streams clung to trees
Life hanging on a string
Highways and neighborhoods were water filled tombs
An end of watch for a veteran Officer
While a wife and children cried fearing the worse
A baby slips from the arms of it‘s mother
Who clings to a tree branch above a rushing stream
I’ve seen and heard so much and been touched
And quietly hurt for those affected
Yet, tears can’t heal the pain left behind
Now, we wait for the subsiding water
To rip out the decay and clear debris
But, today the Sun rose, birds sang
The Butterflies and Bees labored
As survivors worked cleaning up
Trying to gain control of their lives
Helping each other with food ,shelter and love
Harvey brought so much to a divided society
But if we have gained anything from this storm
It is that Life is precious and all other differences,
Prejudices and erroneous ideas have no room to linger
Heroes are ordinary people
Making extraordinary sacrifices
risking life and limb
To help total strangers and neighbors
There are still those hardened Souls
That scuff and make light of others hardships
And those too have come disguised as aides
Like vultures circling a corpse
They wait to consume those in need
Thank God all is well with you
Be thankful for this day
For there might not be another coming our way again
© Juanita Garcia Vera
Houston, Texas
Creator
Juanita Garcia Vera
Title
Life Goes On
Type
poems
Language
en
Rights
This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Source
This item was contributed via the Harvey Memories Project "Contribute an Item" form.
Date Created
2017-08-29
Date Submitted
2018-08-22
Date Available
2018-08-23