Haikus for Joplin

After reading a spread in the Sunday paper about the disaster in Joplin, I decided to try and do a haiku recap, like news in poetry form.


Trees, once leafy oaks
Stand as mangled trunks, naked
Anchored by their roots.


The question now is,
"Do I want to live here still?
Or start somewhere new?"


Like 9/11
There's life before the storm
And life after it.


We will overcome
We will rebuild this city
Gotta believe it.


Address: FEMAville
Neighborhood, not livelihood.
Home for a few months?


Working on a plan
Seeking out debris dump sites
Can't we recycle?


Another landfill
Millions of tons of rubble
Buried in the ground :(


American flags
Flying proud from the wreckage
Homeless optimists :)


We're undecided
Should we stay, or should we go?
No easy answer.


Battered businesses
With plywood-covered windows
Post "We're open" signs


Back to work again
Chainsaws start cutting into
The tornado scar



And just for fun, I created a Wordle out of these haikus, which I featured in yesterday's post as a teaser for today~