What's left is footage:
the hours before Camille,
1969—hurricane parties,
palm trees leaning in the wind,
fronds blown back, a woman's hair.
Then after: the vacant lots,
boats washed ashore,
a swamp where graves had been.
I recall how we huddled
all night in our small house,
moving between rooms,
emptying pots filled with rain.
The next day, our house
on its cinderblocks—seemed
to float in the flooded yard:
no foundation beneath us,
nothing I could see tying
us to the land. In the water,
our reflection trembled,
disappeared when I bent
to touch it.
I recall how we huddled all night in our small house, moving between rooms, emptying pots filled with rain. next day, flood, images in water...... you began with wonderful expressions of love in your small house and then......... joy and sadness. love and at the end a sense of loss. thank you. tony
A nice portrayal of the confrontation with a havoc. I humbly invite the poet to read my poem The Flood. Thank you
Nothing rings truer than personal memories in the hands of a master poet. Exceedingly well written
This is very well done. I've never had to live through a hurricane, and hope I never have to. This is the part that touches me the most: Then after: the vacant lots, boats washed ashore, a swamp where graves had been.
Being from Mississippi and 23 years old in 1969, I remember Hurricane Camile very well. I love the concluding lines - In the water, our reflection trembled, disappeared when I bent to touch it. I think this captures the unreality of the trauma after a devastating storm such as it was. Someday when I have the time I want to read much more of Trethewey's poetry.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Pots filled with rain! With the ways of nature. Thanks for sharing.