emergency repairs to broken roads,
being less than expected,
i prompt some to ask too much.

damage,
storm-related damage,
a million surrenders
by early november,
i throw my arms up
suspending the normal.

wind, waves washed out
every east-west highway,
bypassed permission -
no such thing as
waiting for a good day.

bring in the guard and
hire flaggers, rebuilders
take gravel and rock from the
brooks and rivers,
reduce the cost of me,
consider me open to
no lanes of traffic
crossed-off gates in an absence of hope.

major reconstruction,
let's have a conversation about
existing doesn't mean just fixing
wounds suffered from the storm;

some words of warning -
be careful buying stake
in a girl who's longing for
the day she'll wake up and feel
relief from drowning.