IVAN THE TERRIBLE

by angeliska on September 14, 2004


Ivan_the_Terrible_&_son_-_detail
These are the faces of my fear-
A roaring deluge hurtling towards
our delicate teacup, perched so
precariously between the devil
and the deep blue sea-
or the big brown river
and the lake, as the case may be..
I think I’m warranted a little drama,
a little paranoia when a storm of
this magnitude is ambling its
mighty way in my vicinity.
We’ve battened down the hatches
and though I’m putting off
the agonizing task of choosing
what I will take with me-
the tiny cache of treasures I can’t
afford to lose and a change of clothes-
I think I’ve narrowed it down to
my mother’s fiddle and my doll,
Annathema that Violet made for me.
And a small box of precious photographs,
if there is room. I can only hope it swerves
eastward, and our town, our lovely home
is spared this monstrosity..
I love a thick sassy storm, I truly do-
but this is the widowmaker kind
that turns my marrow to slush
and I’m not fucking around.
I think we leave tomorrow morning
and head west, to avoid the logjam
when the mayor announces
a mandatory evacuation.
And if I’m wrong, and all we get
is some tossing limbs and a heap of rain-
well, I’ll be jumping for joy in Texas.
I don’t like the idea of New Orleans
underwater and torn to bits.
Please no. And thank you.
And just think what a lovely day it was-
golden and elysian, gamboling with
a few of my favorite dears-
wasn’t I just getting my ass kicked
at air hockey a few short hours ago?
Oh golly, but these things do
throw me into quite a tizzy.

2 comments

May I, as a lurker of your archives, just say that reading things like this tells so much more about New Orleans than I ever knew..that before the wickedest storm of all, the fear was there…which ought to be obvious, but I’m a Yankee and we don’t really get it.
That doesn’t seem like much to say, but it’s extremely enlightening, and I appreciate it enormously.

by Annie Dangerpaws on December 5, 2009 at 10:33 pm. Reply #

Thank you, Annie… For hunting through the archives and finding this, and for commenting.
It’s eerie, isn’t it? It’s why I left New Orleans, really. Even before Katrina,
always living in fear of disaster was just getting to be too much for me.
Evacuating constantly is really stressful!
Thanks for reading – I really appreciate your thoughts.

by Angeliska on December 8, 2009 at 11:30 pm. Reply #

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