Hurricane Blues Poem by Larry Houston

Five days out and everything stunk
woods, houses, bodies
sour air clogged my throat, I spit it in gobs
onto the limb strewn yard
food dying in coolers
ice bandits roaming the roads
searching for ice
worth more than gold
huge striped mosquitos
leaving blood smears when slapped
the sound of chainsaws and generators
constant
through open windows
roofs gone and trees domino stacked on the roads
and the heat, the heat
I said to myself
I'm in Hell