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LITERARY NOOK
Beautiful Disaster
Our day began like any other
News of a storm hitting our island were deceived on deaf ears
Not knowing that a tragic event was waiting for us in just a few hours…
When rain started to fall, doom came like a thief in the night
As people end their day, Soudelor was just beginning his
Wind came from different directions bellowing through the night
As if violent tremors were shaking our entire island
The night seemed to last forever, as we watch the hours closely
The only thing we can do is hold on to one another
Praying that Soudelor’s wrath will quickly come to pass…
Alas, the day breaks and so does our bleeding hearts
Our once beautiful island paradise ravaged and destroyed
Hundred-year-old trees lie broken like helpless twigs
As people’s houses became shattering debris
Life changed in a twinkling of an eye; our sources of power obliterated
Desperation ensued and all were reduced to living in the darkness
Our eyes filled with tears from destruction that enveloped our home
As we try to adjust to our reality now, valuable lessons are still learned
Patience, compassion, integrity, perseverance, brotherhood
Our faith stretched wider, deeper, bigger than ever before
Collective suffering will only make our community’s bond even tighter
And no powerful storm can ever shake our resilient island spirit
As long as we have each other, we will get through anything
What doesn’t kill us will only make us stronger
Father, give us strength to live another day
Give us wisdom so we can understand this beautiful disaster
And make us appreciate what we have and never take anything for granted…
I know this isn’t an opinion piece but I wanted to write about Typhoon Soudelor and how it felt as we were going through it. I hope that when people read this poem they would realize that they are not alone and that we can rise above this storm as a community.
