There was a story I heard
A woman with stormy eyes
Who killed houses and livelihoods in this town.
I don’t remember much at five,
But I heard that she was horrible.
She tore up roofs
She destroyed homes
Filled streets, houses,
With her bleeding flood.
I heard there was a neighborhood
That’s still affected to this day
Marred by ruination,
Battle scars imprinted in the flesh.
I read how people talk about her
How she ruined so many lives
Extinguished the little flames of livelihoods
With her pounding force.
I read how many people she killed,
How many she injured.
I read how people survived,
How they refused to die.
I saw how people left their homes
And saw how some didn’t return
To their lives here
Because they were afraid
That something like her would come back
And rip everything from them
Rip away everything they built
Rip away their homes.
I heard how people thought she wasn’t a threat
How people thought she would pass over
Harmless.
They underestimated her.
They underestimated her to the point
That she had to prove herself to them.
And people said to leave
Leave the city
It’s not safe here
But they didn’t listen.
I heard how cruel she was
How ruthlessly her winds battered
Because they underestimated her
And she had to prove herself
By filling streets,
Houses,
At an unrelenting pace,
Devastating an entire city.
The wounds she left are still fresh
Still unhealed
Vivid in memory.
I heard she was deadly.