Sandy butchered the Eastern Shore.
The lambs sold short her brawn.
Droplets morphed, a macabre mount!
Sandy’s scourge marred the dawn.
Lambs mourned their loss, their loves, their lives.
Gouged for needs, evil spawned
The greedy wolves, a mortal blight.
Sandy’s scourge marred the dawn.
Flood waters gorged on memories.
Homes, yards drowned, every awn.
Streets, blocks, history ablaze.
Sandy’s scourge marred the dawn.
Undaunted by havoc and death,
Unsung heroes, no pawns,
Emerged from the mire with help, hope.
Sandy’s scourge marred the dawn.
American spirits fatigued
But never fainting fawns,
Recast their communal turf, when
Sandy’s scourge marred the dawn.
Source of Inspiration for Sandy’s Sinners and Saints
Your first task as a poet is to assess the subject matter and decide which poetic form would best represent the subject. Hurricane Sandy will long be the subject for conversation, tales, and folk music, thus my choice was the ballad. Researching the aftermath of Sandy, two things that stood out were the heroes that emerged from unusual sources, even children, and the gouging of people for basics: food, water, and shelter, exposing the ever-present by-product of evil greed. God bless the heroes. Shame on the greedy.
Sandy’s Sinners and Saints was published in Best Poets of 2013.
Voice of the Villanelle 