Flood Ravaged Queensland
broken waters
from river banks swollen
bore down upon humanity
…unleashing with fury
an urban tsunami
a mother’s heart wrenched
her love denied
for an infant snatched
stolen
by a force indiscriminate
…screams turn to whispers
see arms extended
on roof tops, hopeful
to bodies floating
life sucked upstream
…another tragedy
another helpless victim
the grief of Queensland
sunk in the psyche
of a nation, stoic
determindly dedicating
tear stained pages
to heroic tales
of
heartache
….and rebirth
Colleen DuBois ~ Reflections of Me 
So tragic with no way to stop the onslaught. I am thrilled you have come back with such powerful poetry. Heartfelt and heartwrenching. Hope you all are safe and dry.
January 15, 2011 at 12:04 am
Hi Sara, yes we are fine thank you. Cairns is situated in far north Queensland…quite a distance from the flood ravaged regions of the state. We are fortunate though…would you believe 75% of our state of Queensland has been affected ? The stories of Queenslanders rallying around each other and helping strangers to clean their homes and streets has been overwhelming..a true testament to the Aussie spirit of “mateship” and survival.
January 16, 2011 at 7:45 pm
I’ve been thinking about you!
January 15, 2011 at 10:39 pm
Hi Cindy,
Thank you for thinking of me ! We are all dry and safe here in the Far North of Queensland. Thank you for sharing my post on Facebook…I believe the healing is made even more powerful by the collective spirit.
January 16, 2011 at 7:47 pm
where I live, we experience flooding of some sort every year, we’ve had something like 6- ‘100-year’ floods in the past decade. so, I know the community bonding of which you speak.
my neighborhood sits at the highest point of the city and should we ever lose one of our battles, we would most likely still be dry… but what good would that do if the rest of the city is under water? Our hearts go out to you and your neighbors from the Red River valley!
May the spirit continue to breathe through your poetry and the heart wrenching issues you hold up get their justice.
January 18, 2011 at 8:50 am
So much water and so many tears. I wish it could be easier. Glad you’re okay. Thinking of you, too.
Love,
Pam
January 19, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Thanks Pam xox
January 19, 2011 at 9:30 pm
Wow, amazing words and images of such a tragic event. “screams turn to whispers” … gets me each time I read it!
January 21, 2011 at 11:26 am