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There Are No Words

—on the July 4th Texas flash floods

There are no words to quell a swell of grief
That swallows hope and snatches at the breath
Of those who gasp in startled disbelief
At onscreen scenes of rising tides and death
Surging in a roiling swirl of might
To soak and shred the fabric of the night.

There are no words to lessen raw despair—
The pierce of pain that peels the hardest heart.
No utterance conveys the waves of care
From kin who weep for worlds now wrenched apart
By lashing rains that rage without relief—
There are no words to ease this flood of grief.

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Susan Jarvis Bryant is a poet originally from the U.K., now living on the Gulf Coast of Texas.

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10 Responses

  1. Roy Eugene Peterson

    As one who is near the epicenter of this unmitigated disaster, I share the sentiments of your poem. The gall of some to blame Trump somehow among others stirs up my blood about this historic flood.

    Reply
  2. Warren Bonham

    Beautiful words to describe a horrifying situation. Your brain works incredibly quickly.

    Reply
  3. Mark Stellinga

    I’m crying with you, Susan and Mike, and bless you for addressing this tragedy with such tenderness – ‘There are no words to ease this flood of grief.’

    Reply
  4. Cynthia L Erlandson

    There may be no words, Susan, but yours come awfully close.

    Reply
  5. Dave Etchell

    A great poem, very skilled use of form – cross rhymed quatrain ending in a couplet- pretty rare in English verse. These kinds of disasters especially involving children leave a raw scar on the psyche. I can still remember the awfulness of Aberfan.

    Reply
  6. Brian Yapko

    You must have written this through your tears, Susan. That’s certainly how I read it. Beautiful work.

    Reply
  7. Margaret Brinton

    Susan, it must have been a night of abject terror to those who awoke to the rushing walls of water. Flags should be flown at half-mast to recognize the extent of this tragedy.

    Reply
  9. Yael

    It takes some serious skill to speedily put such a senseless tragedy into beautiful words, even though there are no words for it. Only you can pull this off Susan.

    Reply
  10. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    Thank you all so very much for reading and commenting on this tough poem at this sad and shocking time for so many.

    Reply

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