Aftermath

I normally don't write poetry. Instead, I prefer story telling because I can never find a rhythm of poetry I'm good at.

But for history today I had to write a poem on the Johnstown Flood. My history book gave me an example of a poem composed of five couplets written at the time of the Johnstown Flood by Isaac Reed. My assignment was to write a poem in the same style. Here is the result.

AFTERMATH

Walking through that hospital room,

Feeling as if I had just meet my doom,

My daughter lost, my husband gone.

Why should I even carry on?

Then above the wails and tears,

A small sob reached my ears.

I looked across and saw a bed,

The woman in it plainly dead,

A small boy sitting by her side,

Crying as if he too had died.

I then realized I wasn't the only one,

For this young boy must be her son,

We could do nothing for our lost loved ones dear,

But in their memory shed a tear.

I look around me just once more,

Seeing shed tears hit the floor,

Knowing this loss of life and excess of blood,

Would go down in history as the Johnstown Flood.