Two sisters stood upon the shore
Their lives still and carefree
Each held sheer blessings to adore
Beside the placid sea
They lived a normal coastal life
And shared their joys at length
Until a wretched wrath of strife
Arrived to test their strength.

One August morn, a violent gale
Appeared upon the sand
With utter force, no one could scale
The magnitude at hand
When night befell, it looked as though
The sisters weathered fine
But come the dawn, fate would bestow
A firm and swift decline.

Both sisters had been bruised and crushed
As wind and turmoil raged
But soon, one sibling’s life was hushed
When floodwaters upstaged
Submerging her amid the flow
Of tragedy and grief
Left by a certain coastal foe
That offered no relief.

The sisters, once still and carefree
Persist upon the shore
As pillars for the world to see
Much stronger than before
New Orleans and Biloxi: kin
Whose lives serve to sustain
Although Katrina marred their skin
In one, late August rain.

© 2006 - Jill Eisnaugle's Poetry Collection