in the beginning, there was the flood...

I REMEMBER

I remember. I remember the day

that the skies turned black and

they told us that we needed to

leave.

I looked for my father, but he was not

there. My father, where is he? I need a

new home now.

I am returned to my house, but nothing looks the same. Streets are bare.

The land has taken itself back.

I go to school again. My friends are my

arms around me. We share stories. We

are the ones that must remake our lives.

I go to school again. My friends are my

arms around me. We share stories. We

are the ones that must remake our lives.

My music keeps me strong. I take my

trombone. My trombone is my order in the

upside-down world. I provide the sta-

bility for the entire band. They rest on

my low-blow beat. My low blow beat is my

power—it bounds through the French Quar-

ter. It blasts apart the bridge.

After my homework sessions, my practice

practice practice, the busses take me

back home. My long shotgun house—I walk

through the bedrooms to the kitchen for a

snack...

I walk to an old school a few

streets away. Broken, open,

lights hanging in the hallways.

Me and the boys play basketball.

It’s the only place we have.