Providence Poem by Natasha Trethewey

Providence

Rating: 4.6


What's left is footage:
the hours before Camille,
1969—hurricane parties,
palm trees leaning in the wind,
fronds blown back, a woman's hair.
Then after: the vacant lots,
boats washed ashore,
a swamp where graves had been.
I recall how we huddled
all night in our small house,
moving between rooms,
emptying pots filled with rain.
The next day, our house
on its cinderblocks—seemed
to float in the flooded yard:
no foundation beneath us,
nothing I could see tying
us to the land. In the water,
our reflection trembled,
disappeared when I bent
to touch it.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Edward Kofi Louis 03 March 2016

Pots filled with rain! With the ways of nature. Thanks for sharing.

0 3 Reply
Dr Antony Theodore 03 March 2016

I recall how we huddled all night in our small house, moving between rooms, emptying pots filled with rain. next day, flood, images in water...... you began with wonderful expressions of love in your small house and then......... joy and sadness. love and at the end a sense of loss. thank you. tony

0 2 Reply

A nice portrayal of the confrontation with a havoc. I humbly invite the poet to read my poem The Flood. Thank you

1 2 Reply
Susan Williams 03 March 2016

Nothing rings truer than personal memories in the hands of a master poet. Exceedingly well written

15 2 Reply
T Rajan Evol 03 March 2016

Ya good one and nothing more.

3 3 Reply
Kim Barney 03 March 2016

This is very well done. I've never had to live through a hurricane, and hope I never have to. This is the part that touches me the most: Then after: the vacant lots, boats washed ashore, a swamp where graves had been.

0 2 Reply
Barry Middleton 03 March 2016

Being from Mississippi and 23 years old in 1969, I remember Hurricane Camile very well. I love the concluding lines - In the water, our reflection trembled, disappeared when I bent to touch it. I think this captures the unreality of the trauma after a devastating storm such as it was. Someday when I have the time I want to read much more of Trethewey's poetry.

2 2 Reply
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