Texas Flood
Sunlight sneaks through a crack, feathering
the overgrown lawn, electric blues in the air.
I have forgotten everything I once was.
An uprooted tree, the abandoned
steeple, a lone dog chained to a pole.
The uncertain puddle in a memory of howls.
Last night’s midnight ochre, in spades.
It lives behind me, like the wind.
“Texas Flood” was published in the print journal North Dakota Quarterly in February 2019.
And hey, here’s a video of SRV playing his version of “Texas Flood” with brother Jimmie.
O at the Edges 
Wow – stay safe. Beautiful words about a challenging situation
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Thanks, Beth. This was written about four years ago, in the aftermath of major flooding in Texas. I was fortunate in that I lived in an area that was largely unaffected.
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Wow, this is very vivid and the aftermath of the flood sounds saddening and horrifying. I loved the rhythm of these lines:
“I have forgotten everything I once was.
An uprooted tree, the abandoned
steeple, a lone dog chained to a pole.”
Just forgetting who you are from the shock and devastation and observing everything in a disbelief, I can feel that in this piece. Extremely well-written.
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Thanks very much, Lucy. By the way, I found several of your comments in my spam folder. I don’t know why they were there, but thought you should know.
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Great poem. Sometimes the unmoving is only not moving because it can’t, or because it’s only unmoving in relation to the flood. And there are lots of different kinds of floods. A poem to sit still with while the weekend flows by. Hope you are well over there!
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Thanks, Jeff. Oh, the power of moving water! Life is good here.
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