Swept Away
Where are the children of the storms?
The boy on the bridge with his school bag
Who thought he should cross before the water rose higher.
His sister needed help with her reading.
His mother would worry if he came home late.
Where are the children of the storms?
The girl who waited for her father,
Who heard on the news of a man crushed in his car.
And stood in the rain expecting that car to hoot at the gate.
Where are the children of the storms?
The child taken twice by the raging river
Saved once and swept off once more
Did she lie back and watch the sky in wonder
As the water carried her away?
I cannot bear to sleep
Thinking of her cut and bruised on that final journey.
I pray she was lifted clear of the debris
And laid to rest on a bed of soft clay
Where are the children of the storms?
October 2017
Photo description: Water rising over sand as the tide enters an estuary.
