I
Bridge bruted away by flood, farm trailers turned
to creek and river crossings for stranded folks.
A weary man with a Bobcat struggles stumbled trees
and debris from a broken road, trees wearing 
gaudy ornaments snatched from miles upriver.
A child’s purple shoe sparkles in the timid sun.

II
A woman walks planks laid into a second-story window,
brings back goods that survived flood: her mother’s picture,
her grandmother’s quilt, a daughter’s favorite toys, things of hope.
Her guilt runs deep, thinks of others with all lost. Continues
retrieval of at least half her life.

III
A community up the holler pools goods , tools,
assigns tasks, come together as they anticipate 
a long wait for help. They gather on a farmstead
with a spring, pitch tents, make a barracks in a fine barn.
Someone saved a guitar. They sing.