Flint, Michigan, 6/8/53,

Was not a place you’d want to be,

For a great wind came through,

Took all the buildings, people too.

There was Xenia, OH in seventy-four,

Spring ninety-six, Oklahoma’s Moore.

Birmingham, AL, 4/8/98,

When thirty-two souls met their fate.

And in Maryland’s southern plains,

A whirlwind has taken their gains,

Ripped their lives and tore apart,

The fabric of poor La Plata’s heart.

Why are these folks not alive?

They were killed by winds F5 —

Extreme tornados — winds that twist,

Scour the land with remorseless fist.

Whatever stands before their might —

Demolished — devastating sight!

Swirling sky smashes all erect,

With sand, cows, and cars all wrecked.

Where is God when Nature’s so vile?

Is He with us in our time of trial?

Of what value is saying a prayer?

God beseeched, ungates demon’s lair.

It pounces by day or dead of night,

Kills with projectiles, if not fright!

T’was omnipotent God sent the beast

To destroy in gluttonous anger feast.

It’s your own plan, perhaps some luck,

When F5s search, if you’re not stuck

Above ground with nowhere to hide,

Convinced, poor soul, God’s on your side.

Face F5 and test your prayer’s worth?

Best trust God from a hole in the earth!

Not holy words—a hole in the ground

Keeps you from F5s safe and sound.