Hurricane Katrina
This Is For You…
caring about animals doesn't diminish human suffering,
it makes us human
August 29, 2005 To 2009
By Brenda Shoss, Kinship CircleAugust 29, 2005 marks the day Hurricane Katrina
cast people and animals adrift in a sea of loss.
When levees broke, a singular scream rose from
dark waters. Drowning out reason. Erasing hope.
Who would hear their cries, faint as ashes?
Who would see their fear, locked behind doors,
bound to fence posts, stranded on rooftops?
Thousands searched for familiar faces.
But eyes turned cloudy when no one came.
Huddled in bathtubs. Hidden behind walls.
A tail wagged. A purr took flight…
Caught for a second, then lost in the wind.
Who would hear them? Our government did not.
Who would see them? Our law enforcers did not.
Who would return for them? YOU DID.
Without much money, you jumped on a plane.
Drove cross-country, packed to the roof.
Because you were the eyes that saw each one.
You were the arms that held them all.
You were their food, their water, their love.
This is for you
Who read many words, spoke and searched…
For each tiny heartbeat, left in the wreckage.
This is for you
For every mile traveled. For every life saved.