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The Flood It was springtime in the foothills, the air was fresh and clean The snow pack in the mountains was the most there’d ever been It was summer in the valleys but above was freezing cold With every day some inches being added to the snow A pretty town is nestled in the pretty valley pass A pretty creek runs through the town through parks of pretty grass Houses nestled near the creek side to watch the water drain From the blocks of subdivisions built there on the flood plain The early summer heat was building up relentlessly The higher snow was melting off the mountains and the trees The mountains trapped huge rainclouds, dropped their payloads on the snow In the hot sun all the water had just one place to go It was running off the mountains heading for the town But no one there suspected they were about to drown They’d build small dykes and thought that they had naught to fear City engineers had said “It’s safe to build down here” They went about their business while the water built up steam Rain still coming down it hit the town along that tiny stream It was now a mighty river, broke its banks to flood the town Flooded houses, stores and highways as the deluge tumbled down They could here the roar and feel it in the middle of the night Rocks and logs and tons of dirt washed down on everything in sight Some did not escape for they were trapped there in there bed There were many hurt and there were others that were dead It was impossible to imagine such a deadly tragedy But when you mess with nature you will always lose, you see For nature is not personal it does what it must do And when you try to change it its old habits will come through The houses are in ruins, all possessions were destroyed Nothing left for them of all their things they had enjoyed Everything was covered up with grime and filthy mud From sewer lagoons and septic fields ripped up by the flood The town was devastated people lost all that they had The people were upset, they were frightened, they were mad They moved some out to trailers where they still live today And now the only issue is who is going to pay? The insurance companies claim that it was an act of god That they are not responsible, not prepared to give the nod The people say the City Hall permitted them to build It’s their responsibility so they should pay the bill They were given many promises by governments large and small Who knew very well that they could not fulfill them all The people waited for assistance, lived with relatives and friends Waiting for the time that they could move back home again The government paid them pennies and that was all they got Their houses now have just been left to sit right there and rot Their properties now are worthless for who’ll buy them again We all have learned the lesson, not to buy on a flood plain Yes, some buildings were rebuilt because they were high profile The press had found it handy to make some people smile But the average guy with just a house will have to stand in line To get a tiny handout, he’ll have to bide his time The bureaucrats and officials only seem to pace the floor The engineers say “Let’s not let them build there anymore” But the damage has been done and many lives now are in ruin And no help will be coming for them anytime soon The valleys and the canyons were all carved out this way Nothing’s changes if we decide to build a town there today Nature rolls along like nothing’s changed along its normal route We must move back for nature is the one that has the clout
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