Cinders
falling where the rain was.
A manic sound
crackling like scratchy nails
on the roof.
The waves falling
like exhausted swimmers
from the hurricane.
Gustav looking for his sister.
Like a great whale
breeching itself on the land.
Gustav howled and called out
for Katrina,
angel of the sea’s holocaust.
Ignoring the small, fragile beings
who flashed pictures
of Gustav’s rage,
and did not understand
the revenge of Gustav’s love.
How the sea and land
fought for the supremacy
of the world.
For the streets
to be planted in gardens of coral.
For the mountains to be destroyed
and washed away.
That the grandeur of the dream
is the pounding of relentless time.
Where the poinsettia of the sun rises
to show Gustav the way,
and after him,
another and another
of the sea’s children,
until the earth is covered
with its soul.