I will never forget (ASB Day 4)

Flowing streams of tears fill
swollen eyes shut from drowning sorrow.
Never to have known a levee.
So many questions unanswered.
Screaming souls at the bottom of the river.

Silenced.

Loud echoes fill my eardrums.
And I am tormented.
Markings on walls leave
memories from the forgotten victims.

And I am silenced.

Yet, I still remember.
I remember the cries.
I remember the hopelessness.
I remember Hurricane Katrina.

How could I forget?
I gather my tools.
And I implement my faith.

Splintered hands leave
marks of remembrance.
How could I forget?

I look up and there lies
the water line in the Schumaker's home
from the disaster.

How could I forget?

Riding in a caravan with agents of change.
Making note of the abandonment
and seeing Flood St.

How could I forget?

Empowerment is only valuable
if you implement change.

New Orleans I can hear your cries.
And I will never forget.
Your culture.
Your history.
Your story.

How could I forget?

Vanidy Bailey
Community Director
CSUN Student Housing
ASB Co-Advisor