My cousin, Hannah, wrote this poem nearly one year after Hurricane Katrina delivered nine feet of water to her Lakeview home. It was featured on NPR (National Public Radio) and read aloud to an audience in excess of 500 people.
Many things can come out of such a catastrophic set of events; some less anticipated than others. Here is one of those things.
From a girl who had spent 11 years being a kid and one year learning to grow up, she writes:
Cacophony
by Hannah Campbell
If I am being called I can not hear it
Katrina’s disruptive voice is still so loud
It leaves me deaf.
I am so caught up thinking about the past
that it’s hard to hear the future.
My grandfather’s soothing voice echoes
Even though he’s gone.
The crunch of bull dozers eating houses
drowns out any thoughts of how my life is going to be.
The silence of my neighborhood
Where kids used to run and play
Screams in my ears
And I can’t concentrate.
Maybe I’ll hear a voice calling someday,
but for now,
Cacophony.
[...] and I almost forgot, about six months ago I posted a poem she wrote called Cacophony. It's awesome, and I love it–check it [...]