Poetic Verses
Katrina
September 3, 2005
They named this one Katrina
She was a lovely girl
With bright red hair and sea green eyes
Her hair was all a curl
If she could dance around you
She would instead of walk
The girl would whirl and dip and spin
And how that child could talk
As she was growing so fast
We wondered what to do
Her voice was getting stronger
And she seemed to be so blue
A tantrum in the kitchen
An argument gone wrong
There were some broken dishes
Because then she wasn't strong
But as she grew in stature
Her temper just got worse
We called to get some help for her
When she began to curse
It didn't matter what we did
It always was all wrong
We'd move one way or other
But she couldn't get along
By now you see this problem
Was getting out of hand
What started as a tiny storm
Was going to hit land
Her fury now expanding
The red crept in her eyes
For crossing the panhandle
Of Florida, Surprise!
Whew, we dodged a bullet
A class three storm was she
But when she hit the gulf coast
She bounced back gloriously
Katrina spread her skirts out
Her eye started to glow
She whirled and spun around us
Katrina wouldn't slow
We watched her build in wonder
She'd started out so small
But now she was a “GREAT STORM”
Her size now cast a pall
Look out, she's started marching
And building as she goes
New Orleans' where she's headed
To hear those trumpets blow
Evacuation notices
Were sent out to them all
The ones that could left quickly
The group that stayed wasn't small
The Dome where they played football
Became a refuge there
She was a bit deflected
They thought that they were spared
Mississippi and Alabama
Really got the hardest blow
So many places were destroyed
There was no where to go
New Orleans felt so lucky
Until the Levies went
Then 20 feet of water
Came a flooding, all were spent
They'd lived thru such destruction
Together in the dome
But when they opened up the doors
There was no place called home
New Orleans now was buried
It didn't know it died
But all those who survived it
Knew that Katrina lied
“She wasn't sposed to hit us
With all her force you know
We thought we'd dodged the bullet
Now there is no place to go”
Help was long in coming
Our Nation cried aloud
“We can not let the music die
Or folks who are so proud”
Our babies are in trouble
The old don't understand
There is such death around them
We have to have a plan
The water was all tainted
The food was rotten too
Walking on the flooded streets
Was dangerous for you
Looters hit the big stores
Policemen had to come
Old New Orleans was angry
Where was help coming from
Biloxi had been hit hard
The little towns were gone
We still don't know how many died
Or who was left alone
The helicopters started
To gather people in
They pulled them off the rooftops
Help started to begin
There was a man and big rig
Who brought some water here
He went back home for more stuff
Around him was such fear
Help came from some cities
Katrina didn't kill
They doled it out so carefully
That no one got their fill
Then finally the troopers
A Caravan of them
Came to relieve the Police
And brought some things, my friend
This story's never-ending
They'll need help there for days
With rats, and snakes and gaters
From out the bayou way
There was a lovely story
About a little boy
Who'd ridden a helicopter
He was his grand-dad's joy
When the family got together
After all that had transpired
The father said “when he is dating
He will have to be inspired”
They'd tell him of his rescue
When everything looked lost
They got him out to safety
And they didn't spare the cost
He'll grow up strong and handsome
He'll have girlfriends galore
But if one's named Katrina
His folks will hit the floor….
His Dad said, “No Katrina's
We don't want her anymore”
They named this one Katrina
She was a lovely girl
With bright red hair and sea green eyes
Her hair was all a curl
If she could dance around you
She would instead of walk
The girl would whirl and dip and spin
And how that child could talk
As she was growing so fast
We wondered what to do
Her voice was getting stronger
And she seemed to be so blue
A tantrum in the kitchen
An argument gone wrong
There were some broken dishes
Because then she wasn't strong
But as she grew in stature
Her temper just got worse
We called to get some help for her
When she began to curse
It didn't matter what we did
It always was all wrong
We'd move one way or other
But she couldn't get along
By now you see this problem
Was getting out of hand
What started as a tiny storm
Was going to hit land
Her fury now expanding
The red crept in her eyes
For crossing the panhandle
Of Florida, Surprise!
Whew, we dodged a bullet
A class three storm was she
But when she hit the gulf coast
She bounced back gloriously
Katrina spread her skirts out
Her eye started to glow
She whirled and spun around us
Katrina wouldn't slow
We watched her build in wonder
She'd started out so small
But now she was a “GREAT STORM”
Her size now cast a pall
Look out, she's started marching
And building as she goes
New Orleans' where she's headed
To hear those trumpets blow
Evacuation notices
Were sent out to them all
The ones that could left quickly
The group that stayed wasn't small
The Dome where they played football
Became a refuge there
She was a bit deflected
They thought that they were spared
Mississippi and Alabama
Really got the hardest blow
So many places were destroyed
There was no where to go
New Orleans felt so lucky
Until the Levies went
Then 20 feet of water
Came a flooding, all were spent
They'd lived thru such destruction
Together in the dome
But when they opened up the doors
There was no place called home
New Orleans now was buried
It didn't know it died
But all those who survived it
Knew that Katrina lied
“She wasn't sposed to hit us
With all her force you know
We thought we'd dodged the bullet
Now there is no place to go”
Help was long in coming
Our Nation cried aloud
“We can not let the music die
Or folks who are so proud”
Our babies are in trouble
The old don't understand
There is such death around them
We have to have a plan
The water was all tainted
The food was rotten too
Walking on the flooded streets
Was dangerous for you
Looters hit the big stores
Policemen had to come
Old New Orleans was angry
Where was help coming from
Biloxi had been hit hard
The little towns were gone
We still don't know how many died
Or who was left alone
The helicopters started
To gather people in
They pulled them off the rooftops
Help started to begin
There was a man and big rig
Who brought some water here
He went back home for more stuff
Around him was such fear
Help came from some cities
Katrina didn't kill
They doled it out so carefully
That no one got their fill
Then finally the troopers
A Caravan of them
Came to relieve the Police
And brought some things, my friend
This story's never-ending
They'll need help there for days
With rats, and snakes and gaters
From out the bayou way
There was a lovely story
About a little boy
Who'd ridden a helicopter
He was his grand-dad's joy
When the family got together
After all that had transpired
The father said “when he is dating
He will have to be inspired”
They'd tell him of his rescue
When everything looked lost
They got him out to safety
And they didn't spare the cost
He'll grow up strong and handsome
He'll have girlfriends galore
But if one's named Katrina
His folks will hit the floor….
His Dad said, “No Katrina's
We don't want her anymore”
