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Galveston 1900

We all knew the storm was coming. September weather ain’t no surprise. So we never once gave thought to running when the pressure started dropping and the tide began to rise. Just after dark came the hurricane warning. The bridge had washed out and we were all alone. In the street I could hear the water rising. A few more inches it will be inside our home. We ran upstairs when the ground floor went under, praying “oh God please let us see the morning light.” The lightning flashed just before the thunder, and for just one second I seen such a terrible sight. Out the window where our neighbor’s house was standing, but it wasn’t standing there now. Began to wonder if I’d ever see tomorrow. Began to wonder if I even wanted to now. It’s forty miles across the bay to Houston, but Houston seems so far away. I try to be strong, but my tears they flow like water that gathers up around me like the tide of a hurricane. I always thought I’d live life in Galveston. Always thought I’d live on the bay. But I won’t live no more in Galveston, cause Galveston ain’t no more today. We spent the night upon the roof top, and all of the next day, watching the buildings and the bodies roll with the tide and wash on out to sea. My children ain’t stopped crying. They hold to their mother but she don’t say a thing. And I don’t know what holds tomorrow, like I don’t know what the weather will bring. It’s forty miles across the bay to Houston, but Houston seems so far away. I try to be strong, but my tears they flow like water that gathers up around me like the tide of a hurricane. I always thought I’d live life in Galveston. Always thought I’d live on the bay. But I won’t live no more in Galveston, cause Galveston ain’t no more today. No Galveston done been washed away.