Wading Thru New Orleans

Mothers & fathers crying,
Young and old lie dying
Those left behind still trying
To find their way back home

                           --How can they start
                             To rebuild their lives--

Waters deep & rising
Boats tossing & capsizing
Life’s forcible revising
As they fill the Astrodome

                           --Hearts torn apart
                             Lost husbands & wives--

Children saving babies
Leading them through Hades
Heroic lords & ladies,
An example for us all 

                           --They’re wading through New Orleans
                             hope seems forever gone--

The lost are helping lost
Regardless of the cost
To find their own glasnost
As buildings ‘round them fall

                           --Carrying little but their dreams
                             and in their hearts, a song—

The spirit of mankind
Will not be left behind
& nations are aligned
with compassion more than pity

                           --generosity flows across the plains
                             as countrymen respond--

To help these people thrive,
Do more than just survive
And help them to revive
Their dear, beloved city

                           --until the killing waters drain
                             harmless as a pond--

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