A Prayer for Joplin – May 2011

The mighty

Breath of air

Roared past,

And,

In a stark moment,

A city of trees

Is no more,

It's just a broken

City,

Awaiting help

In stunned disbelief,

While a hundred

Chain saws,

Strip it bare

Of the wreckage

Of its beauty.

They were spared

The Presidential

Circus

For a week,

A week to

Take stock,

To look for dead,

To gather pictures,

Broken treasures,

But now they've got,

Their photo op,

They can plant

Their trees anew,

And if they live

Ninety years,

Well,

Ninety years more,

They'll see

Their city

Bloom anew,

It's a time,

To contemplate

Our limits,

Forget what

We have lost,

And give thanks,

For what we have,

Amen.

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