All items are included with permission of the original writers/artists, where appropriate.

They may see the good you do as self serving.
Continue to do good.

They may see your generosity as grand standing.
Continue to be generous.

They may see your warm and caring nature as a weakness.
Continue to be warm and caring.

For you see, in the end it is between you and God.
It never was between you and them anyway.

Author Unknown

As posted on the Sun Herald Hurricane Katrina forum:

FIVE MONTH LATER

Five months later
I sit and wonder why
I was allowed to live
While others had to die

Is there a reason
That only He knows
Why so many perished
Amongst the rubble that still shows.

Five months later
All I do is cry
For all of the destruction
And the pain standing by

People still in tents
Waiting for the aid
To come and help them out
While the government gets paid.

Five months later
everything is the same
We sit and wonder
How long we’ll play the game

Thanks to the country
The people of our land
Who care enough about us
To donate and take a stand

Five months later
I sit and wonder why
So many still missing
All I do is cry.

PhoenixRayne
1/26/05
Awaiting the 5 month anniversary

 

 

"Don't Quit," Author Unknown

When things go wrong as they sometimes will;
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill;
When the funds are low, and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but have to sigh;
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but do not quit.

Success is failure turned inside out;
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt;
And you can never tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit-
It's when things go wrong that you must not quit.

 

 

This is a poem written by 16 yr old Kayla Asher

 

Alone in this room I quietly sit

A little over a month after the hurricane hit

She tore through my house and through my heart

Sometimes I feel as if my world has fell apart

So much crying, so many tears

Life will not be the same for many more year

Each hour is a battle, each day a war

Some people ask how we’ve survived this far

I say I’m strong and nothing will hold me down

I feel as if I need tears painted on my face like a little clown

I try to be strong for everyone around me

But its hard to hide the pain so people can’t see

Walking outside is so hard to overcome

Looking at the cement slabs makes my body feel numb

Those cement slabs actually used to be someone’s life

But Katrina blew through here and cut through our world with her big knife

Homes were flooded, lives were destroyed

I actually met someone who’s husband was sent here, deployed.

The first week was the hardest, not knowing if my loved ones survived.

But we were lucky because we were not food or water deprived

Now I just sit here and wonder when if it’ll get better or not

Being happy is now something most of us have recently forgot.

Alone in this room I quietly sit

A little over a month after the hurricane hit.

October 5, 2005

 

 

This is a Lyric Poem 15 yr old Kayla Netto

Here Again

Here I am again in a place that was gone in the early dawn

No house without a doubt,

Everyone crying and tring to find something.

 

Here I am again in a place gone in the early dawn

Everything gone,people searching and trin to find there loved ones.

 

Everything gone from the beach all threw the Coast

Houses are down and laying all around

No one can hear you crying, the roads are muddy and memories fade.

 

Here I am again in a place thats gone in the early dawn

Every thing is gone, people searching and tring to find there loved ones.

 

Here I am again in a place thats gone in the early dawn...

Here I am again in a place gone in the early dawn......

 

~~By; Kayla Netto~~

~January 16,06~

 

 

Poem from the SunHerald forum member witchypoo62

 

Did you lose it all?

Did you lose someone loved?

Did you wait in line for hours?

Were you worn out and unloved?

 

Hurricane Katrina came crashing through,

to take it all away,

she came with such ferocity,

it is still gone today.

 

In time we will rebuild,

somewhere new for some,

others will remain,

waiting for another hurricane to come.

 

The survivors will remember,

the "big one" that arrived,

the world will forget,

about those who survived.

 

Look after yourself!

 

 

Poem from the SunHerald forum member witchypoo62

 

Although I was thirsty and hungry and dirty,

I am alive though I am over thirty,

If they think a little hurricane can take me down,

they have another thing comin' on round.

 

I'm a fighter, a lover, a go out there and get it girl,

I'm a welsh born aussie that gave the USA a whirl,

I played in the snow in midwest Illinois,

Then swam in the warm ocean in the gulf ,yeah boy.

 

I thought I was tough, but looking back then,

I stayed for the wind, and moved in a bit when,

The wave came ashore, thrashing and crashing,

Landing on our apartments, smashing and bashing.

 

I returned to my home, or where it should be,

Not one recognizable item did I see,

I found not one photo, golf club or book,

It hit me so suddenly, water is all it took.

 

Katrina bore down on the coast without care,

Taking lives and homes from those that were there,

We ran away from the mess left behind,

What's there for us now? Not a thing comes to mind.

 

We are going to Australia, where there's wind in your hair,

Not in your kitchen, bathroom or anywhere,

No hurricanes there mate, you bet your life,

No pain, loss, or worry, and no bloody strife!!!

 

 

Poem from the SunHerald forum member dpiper

 

Today I remember….

 

I opened a box of treasured things….

Ruined, soggy, tattered and torn

That my loving grandmother had kept,

Even though they were old and worn

I try to remember,

And it’s not hard to do

To remember my grandmother

And all that she knew

I remember her treasures, her loves,

The things she held dear

Most of which have been destroyed,

But I do have some here.

I remember her stories

Heck, I remember her smell

I remember how I came running

To the sound of her dinner bell

I remember snuggling

Deep in her quilts

As I remember sleeping

In the house that she built

I remember the garden

And all the time she spent

To ensure perfect blooms

And exactly what that meant

I remember her pride

And her love of the coast

I remember the recipes

She loved the most

I remember her spirit

And all that she was

I thought it was all lost in that thing

FEMA calls a flood

I cried in the night

I cried in the day

For all that has been lost

And in such a horrific way

And then I make myself remember

That is not what she had

And it is not what she was

I never did lose the most important thing,

Which was her love.

Most importantly I remember her lessons

And I hold my head high

As I tenderly follow her footsteps

And continue to try

To always remember

To help the ones she helped most

The lovely, phenomenal folks of her

Mississippi Gulf Coast

 

 

Song from the SunHerald forum member dpiper

(sung to the tune of We Three Kings)

A Tribute to the Stars…..

 

We survivors of Katrina are

Sending gifts from here and afar

Seeds and blankets, poems and jackets

Supporting our coastal stars

 

Chorus:

O, Stars of wonder, Stars of might,

Stars with royal beauty bright,

Avoid defeating and keep proceeding,

Guide us to do what is right.

 

Blankets may seem simple and plain

Basic comforts just to maintain

Warmth forever, cold Never

Bump to the top again

 

Chorus:

 

Not alot to offer have I;

The people around me holler and cry

It’s amazing and Conscious raising,

”Check it out” I silently sigh.

 

Chorus:

 

Gifts arrive by the dark of the moon

Brightening up my gathering gloom;

Laughing, Smiling, Now denying

Doubt in my faithful platoon.

 

Chorus:

 

Glorious now gifts arrive,

With a little sacrifice,

Supporters sing, "Hallelujah!"

"Hallejujah!" the Coast replies.

 

 

Ok my mind wandered.....so I threw together this silly son.

 

We've only just begun to help

blankets and clothing

a hug for now and we're on our way

And yes, We've just begun

 

Before the rising tides we live

Not many roads to know

We start to help and we learn to care

And yes, We've just begun.

 

Sharing belongings that are new to us,

Watching for signs along the way,

Talking it over just the group of us,

Working together day to day

Together.

 

And when the evening comes we pray,

So much of night ahead

We'll find a place where there's room to grow,

And yes, We've just begun.

 

************

http://www.vex.net/~paulmac/carpenter/lyrics/weve_only_just_begun.html

 

 

Song from the SunHerald forum member IteachASL

 

Ramblings of Guilt

 

As I look around, the sights are horrendous.

Lives are strewn to the curb in pandemonium.

Generations of belongings lain out like a yard sale gone very, very wrong!

 

One can glean everything about the inhabitants of this so-called dwelling,

if one is so bold as to look.

Their reading habits, their hobbies, their love of movies and music

are not a secret to anyone who wishes to peruse the piles

growing ever higher beside their tract of land.

 

One’s senses kick in to high gear.…

It’s the stench of rot, mud, slime, and mold.

The sight of wood swollen and warped by water to generations of furniture

that in your gut, you just know have been passed down.

It’s the taste of a meal that some kind person has handed to you,

and the feel of sheetrock and insulation laden with odious water.

It’s also the sound of the chainsaws during the day, and the generators that lull you to sleep at night.

 

These are the abominations and the legacy of Katrina.

 

Guilt over washes me, for I have lost little.

My home is fairly intact.

For what I have lost, compared to others, my family and I have suffered little.

I have a home, I have comforts….

And most thankfully, I have all my family members!

 

But I have lost peace of mind.

 

I’ve lain in bed, crying for the mere fact I have a bed to lie in.

I’ve cried when I’ve fed my pet, thankful that she’s still with me.

I’ve agonized over the haves and have nots.

I’ve hated the devastation I’ve seen.

 

I’ve detested the rivers of tears, and swollen, puffy eyes of the brave,

not wanting to burden others with their woes.

There is repugnance at what is left of this once beautiful area.

Will I ever get over it? Will I ever “deal”?

Though I haven’t suffered as much in an object-oriented way,

Perhaps, I too have suffered at the hands of Katrina?

 

© ~!~ Becky ~!~ 9/30/05

 

 

We Are Family by Sister Sledge

Modified by Vicki aka Calidoll

Ok sing it with me now ....(I thought I would have to edit it more than I did....WOW! only changed "my sisters" to "Americans"

Stand up and get funky and loud now......YOU know you need this too.....it will make you feel good.....Sing out now!

We are family
I got all Americans with me
We are family
Get up everybody and sing

We are family
I got all Americans with me
We are family
Get up everybody and sing

Everyone can see we're together
As we walk on by
And (Fly) and we fly just like birds of a feather
I won't tell no lie
(All) all of the people around us they say
Can they be that close
Just let me state for the record
We're giving love in a family dose

We are family
I got all Americans with me
We are family
Get up everybody and sing (sing it to me)

We are family
I got all Americans with me
We are family
Get up everybody and sing

Living life is fun and we've just begun
To get our share of the world's delights
(High) high hopes we have for the future
And our goal's in sight
(We) no we don't get depressed
Here's what we call our golden rule
Have faith in you and the things you do
You won't go wrong, oh-no
This is our family Jewel

We are family
I got all Americans with me
We are family
Get up everybody and sing