Poetry

Iowa, Proudly Drowning

Spring showers bring produce that feed America’s heartland
Rain falls in America’s prairie, draining into the Mississippi
Our breadbasket’s rain shed is working under high demand.

Soil saturated, yet rain still falls. Gutters fill, streams rise.
Iowans remark casually, “This rainfall ain’t funny”. 
Weathermen notate rainfall, keeping us apprised. 

March moves into April, corn and soybeans planted late
Precious seeds sown in rich soil yield America’s bread
Iowa farmers anxiously watch the sky, willing rain to abate

Small rivers and streams overflow, Mississippi levels rise
Community, church and business events postponed
Proud Hawkeyes keep an eye to the sky

Mississippi rising, seventeen then twenty-two
Small streams overflow; some rural roads, too.
Detours to work, still Iowa bravely stoic breezes through

Once blessed rain doesn’t stop, river waters still rise
The call goes out, volunteers needed. Sand bags to fill
College students, soccer moms with kids and businessmen arrive. 

Volunteers board windows, pile sacks high as they can
Others shovel sand, bags passed by hardworking Iowa hands
All hope and pray the river will not rise higher again

College students struggle, student union to save
Park and reservoir closed, roadway flood water filled
“This sure ain’t no way for a river to behave!”

Businesses sandbag; plastic tarp wrapped, determined to stay
“We’ve been here 20 years, we will not be moved!”
Families and friends hope barriers will keep the river away.

Pump lines span roads, a strange spider leg’s trail
Rain keeps falling, dry land and sun a tenuous memory
Iowa’s hearty outlook: “At least it’s not hail”

Granma weeps as the rescue boat moves upstream
her proud face creased, her spirit still strong
As she watches water wash away her American dream

Forty years of hard work, all washed away in a day
The sweat of her brow, the strength of her hands
Nothing to hand down to her children, her legacy leeched away 

Mothers cradle children both weeping, without homes
Shelters in high schools, hundreds of cots in a room
Iowa’s positive attitude “At least we are not alone”

The heartland bonds as the flood waters increase
The Midwestern attitude cannot be beat
Iowan volunteers efforts never cease

Water recedes, leaving soil and stench
Dead fish carcass four blocks from river’s edge
Mississippi mud coats the bus stop bench

Mud marks water’s height on once flooded stone
Some people lost everything, the heartland is donating
Children lost toys, teens lost clothes, many without homes.

Useless barriers broken, sand leaks out of sacks
Sign on Taco Bell proudly proclaims
“20 years, 2 floods – we will be back!”

Still more donate, their neighbors to support
Mississippi river now abated, the cleanup begins
Town governments wait for financial reports

Iowa jobless and homeless, poor. 
Tents pitched in once flooded yards
America’s heartland is bravely living outdoors. 

All is not lost for nothing the Midwest depletes
depression, terrorists, wars, tornados, ice storms
the Midwest stands proudly, iron resolve beats defeat.

Businesses reach out, helping neighbors in distress
Strangers help others, proof positive again, 
the Midwest spirit shines brightest under stress.