Language

Language

One reporter discussed the flotsam, flotage, and the jetsam,
We’ve all seen the pictures
Of the phalanxes
On the streets
In the now greatly infamous sin city
Of New Orleans

America's enemies, and some allies alike, are indulging in schadenfreude
There is hard evidence
Too many cared more about the politics than the people

Non-profit organizations found unprecedented opportunity
And made repeated televised appeals
For more, greater, and continued cash donations
Even before aid and assistance arrived
The commercials reeled
Justified
By the plight and suffering
Of the men, women, and children
Dying
Not on foreign shores
Not in Third World Countries
But here
In the city of New Orleans
At the Superdome and the Convention Center

Bodies laid scattered about the city
Some yet undetected in their homes
Still some six months later

The price of a barrel of oil and a gallon of gas
Reaching new unprecedented heights
Since the storm

The desperate cries of need for water, food, and shelter
Still showing around the world
First Responders and volunteers turned away
Held at bay

Displaced peoples, and their culture
Forced to seek residency in other States
The question is bantered about
Should New Orleans be rebuilt?

The question begs, by who or whom?
The men and women
The working poor
The aged and infirmed
The young
Who were left behind?
Betrayed
Abandoned
Ignored

Ransomed by the Federal Republican Government’s request
Of the Democratic Governor
Kathleen Blanco
“Sign this complicated legal document first”
While the flood waters
Trapped American citizens
In a watery tomb

Now is not the time for talk like that
Though briefings abounded
Solutions eluded
The talking heads of State
Till Mayor Nagin’s rage erupted
Played on the radio
“Don’t tell me forty-thousand people are coming here. They’re not here.
It’s too doggone late.
Now get off your asses and do something,
And let’s fix the biggest goddamn crisis in the history of this country.”

Source for Mayor Nagin’s quote:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/02/nagin.transcript/