This is the first of a three-part series on Hurricane Rita as it approaches the author's hometown of Houston. Part II will describe the storm's fury when it pounds the city for twelve hours and then Part III will reflect on Rita's aftermath.

Hurricane Rita on her way
As Houston battens down on a summer day
Cat 4 an ominous reminder
Of wind’s fury, a real sidewinder
People stranded on I-45
A bus explodes, elderly folk die

Roads less traveled everywhere
People inside shaking and scared
Katrina taught us a lesson or two
About carefree life and playing the fool
An eerie silence awaits the storm
Sunshine and heat do not forewarn

No batteries or bottled water to be found
In a city of four million, a giant ghost town
Empty freeways and buildings boarded up
A harbinger of nature’s horrific dump
Tubs filled with water and coolers of ice
After no electricity, it’s not so nice

Radios and flashlights replace laptops and Ipods
Portends a simpler life until God gives the nod
For wind and rain to hit the streets
Knocking reporters off their feet
So we continue to wait like lost sheep
Before nature’s fury begins to leap