These came to me so strong, so strong...always remember, never forget.

KATRINA, ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY: TWO POEMS
(c) 2006, Karla Dorman.

"9th Ward"

look beneath the make-up
that's been slapp'd on my face.
can't you see i'm hurtin'
under the false veneer?
lies
     eyeshadow'd
                       mascara'd
lipstick'd, spray'd with perfume
can't hide the stench of death.
it pervades ruin'd streets
& lingers in my eyes...
poor
      elderly
                       disabl'd
are the forgotten souls
THEY don't want you to see -
behind the rouge'd cheeks
the problems still exist.
fake
      beauty can't
                        be pass'd off
as reality - black/
white-face'd hope ain't nothin'
but dreams that blew apart
and complicate the pain.
><><><><><><><><><><><><><
"I Hear It"

i hear it
from the safety of the bed,
the ratt'lin'
rumble of the superdome
roof comin'
apart - i see chunks of it
bein' pried
off one.  section.  at.  a. time,
the fingers
of katrina reach inside,
and that's when
i wake up from the nightmare.
i hear them,
the screams of desperation,
and see it
in wide-open'd mouths yellin'
for relief,
anger builds to cat 5 strength,
boils over
the shelter design'd to hold
back the surge,
and its pull
threatens to suck me right in,
and that's when
i wake up from the nightmare.
i hear it,
the lies that they are tellin',
ev'rything's
fine, come back to the city,
partee time,
ev'rything's back to normal,
N'Awlins might
been beat down, but she's okay,
she's risin'
and she's better than before......
and i know
i'm still havin' a nightmare.