[StBernard] "Katrina" SBS student poem

[Westley Annis]

This is a poem written by one of the 7th graders at my new school, St.
Bernadette, in Houma.  It is very profound for a child her age, especially
because she was not affected by Katrina or Rita, yet can sympathize with
such heartfelt meaning.  It tugged at my heartstrings to say the least. 
 
Katrina
 
What once was a city
is now a sea,
a place with strong energy.
 
The streets were filled
with music and laughter
until the day it was declared
one of the nations
worst national disasters.
 
What once was businesses
and houses
and streets
became a graveyard
where dead bodies would meet.
 
Houses became islands,
rooftops became rafts,
while hope became
a thing of the past.
 
Thousands were hungry
and lost and dying.
It wasn't just women and children
that were crying.
 
People prayed for death
because the suffering was so great,
while others sang the declaration
of prejudice and hate.
 
But despite what others
 claim it to be,
I know there are others
 out there like me.
 
With love in their hearts
and the spirit of peace,
and the more that we give,
the more life would increase.
 
Let us not wait for death
and despair
to step out of our armor
and show that we care.
 
~Brittany Laliberte (la-li-ber-tee)
  7th grader
  St. Bernadette School
  Houma, La.
 


--
Erica Annis