Hello PoetryVoting

Vote

Voting-Boards

Home

HomeFollowingInboxNotifications

Read

ReadLiftedFeedsHeartedHistoryMy poemsNew poem

Explore

ExploreOrbitsWordsTagsClassics
Log in
0
Stars
0
Embers
0
Alerts
0
Inbox

Vote

Voting-Boards

Home

HomeFollowingInboxNotifications

Read

ReadLiftedFeedsHeartedHistoryMy poemsNew poem

Explore

ExploreOrbitsWordsTagsClassics
Log in
0
Stars
0
Embers
0
Alerts
0
Inbox

With Floodwater up to his Ankles, a Man from Broad Channel says "I'm not leaving."

we sink half an inch every year "soon, we'll be up to our ears in water" not a creature of fury, just of habit the moon pulls her to churning, to crashing. hotter water temper tantrums rush the brine into our basements soaking scrapbooks in salt until it crystallizes faces and yet i cannot blame the marsh for reclaiming what was never ours and taking even what was as penance. but i refuse to condemn us for shaping shorelines into lives because things are so much clearer when they turn with the tides. we’ll grow gills in time, we have to. the ones who stay on land could never handle shifting sands don’t know we cling onto the inlet with white-knuckled hands. they never grew from buried roots, seeds are just flotsam in the sea so they’ll call Frank O’Toole crazy when he can’t bring himself to leave.
Request permission to use this poem
Written by
michelle-argueta
Published
Mar 25, 2018
Lines·Words
31·148
Notes

This poem is a reaction to a clip used in a John Oliver segment on flooding (here it is for context: https://youtu.be/pf1t7cs9dkc?t=985 ). In it, he was quick to make fun of Frank O' Toole, a man from Broad Channel, New York who had his house destroyed by Hurricane Sandy and rebuilt it in the same spot, despite constant flooding, because he couldn't see himself in any other neighborhood. Growing up in a similarly close-knit (and similarly threatened) neighborhood fairly close to Broad Channel, I sympathized with his determination to stay right where he is. Shoutout to you, Frank.

Tags
#home#flooding#ocean#water#community#new#york#broad#channel#queens
Permission

Request to use this poem

Tell michelle-argueta how you would like to use it. We review requests before forwarding them.

AboutBlogFAQPrivacyTermsContact
© 2009-2026 Hello Poetry/v27.0 by @eliotyork
Explore
Hello PoetryVoting
Write