Water

The prompt at writing group was a plastic bottle of water, that you buy at the store.
The word I drew was "comfort." But it went unused. There was no comfort here.


"Water water everywhere, and not a drop to drink."

Water in a bottle--soon all we'll have to drink, I'm afraid.
The grocery shelves will soon be empty of water, I'm afraid.
Images of water on television--much too much water.

Unforgettable images.
The Cumberland creeps up--Riverfront Park steps, First Avenue, Second Avenue, and still it rises.
LP Field--a bowl of dirty water--no Titans playing today.
Ghost dance artwork--standing surrounded by water.

Look up at the downtown Nashville skyline,
then look down to street level,
at the lake surrounding the buildings where I used to work.

Antioch, Nolensville, Bellevue, Clarksville,
Nashville itself--overwhelmed by water.

Life-saving water--one water treatment plant inundated,
the other barely holding on.

Life-taking water--20 deaths, older couple swept away in their car,
young men swept away when their innertubes broke apart,
children allowed to play in contaminated flood water.
What are those parents thinking of?

Images one after another, after another!
The best and the worst.

I'm safe. My family is safe.
But I'm overwhelmed. My heart is breaking.
And we seem to exist in a vacuum.
Local news media come through spectacularly.
The national media give it hardly a mention.
Facebook is the lifeline out, but we spend a great deal of time explaining what happened.
Who knew?

Surreal
Bizarre
Terrible!

The weekend from hell.