Opinion
‘It’s Going To Flood Again’ – a poem by Stormy Deere
“It’s going to flood again.”
That’s what my husband told me back in January.
“No big deal,” I said, “It always floods some.”
“No baby, you don’t understand,” he said, “It’s going to be really bad this time. Our house may be in danger.”
I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t accept it.
Then, in February, the water started coming.
By March 16th, we were boating from the road to get to our house.
April, May, June came.
We were still boating.
The water kept rising.
July and August came, we were still boating.
Over 548,000 acres flooded for six months by a man-made flood.
Crops didn’t get planted.
People displaced for months.
Homes completely destroyed.
Wildlife starving or dead.
The Mississippi South Delta was brought to its knees.
We screamed. We yelled. We posted. We called. We wrote. We did everything we were supposed to do.
No help came.
From being denied assistance to help save the roads by a county supervisor all the way to being told we were not national news worthy.
Did we hang our heads and give up?
Absolutely not.
Neighbors helped neighbors. Sandbagging, moving, making sure each person was OK.
Entire communities working their tails off to save their roads, homes and property.
The Forgotten Backwater Flood.
A six month, man-made flood due to a government project not being completed.
The destruction is mind boggling.
Homes gone, fallow fields, black mold everywhere, the stink of death in every breath you take.
FEMA has denied individual assistance, and we still have no answers on the completion of the pumps.
Are we not worthy?
Do we not pay taxes?
Are we not Americans?
This is my story. And I’m going to tell it.
Each and every byline.
Each and every character.
I’m going write every word down, and then I’m going to shout it from the rooftops.
There are many more stories to be told.
If there ever was a David vs Goliath story,
ever was a fight for justice and what is right,
ever was a fight for the American dream,
This is it.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”
-Declaration of Independence
Stormy Deere has been a community advocate for getting the Backwater Pumps installed at Steele Bayou since the flooding impacted her life.
See a typo? Report it here.
