Before, During, After a Storm

Elizabeth Mount

Perhaps the most important thing to remember 
is not that it will be okay.
In many ways, it simply won't be. 
You, your neighbors, your loved ones 
will lose pets, lives, memories, furniture, 
access to water and food.

You may lose your trust in nature, in the cycles of life.
You and your pets will startle at a slamming door,
listen too intently to the creaks of the floorboards,
wondering if another tree is falling,
if another piece of your life is about to come apart.

And it will hurt 
and you will go numb, 
and everything will be 
so hard 
for longer than you imagined.

 

But also there will be help 
and community 
and kindness, 
and more people who want you to come out of it well and whole 
than you could ever believe possible. 
Things are at their worst amidst the aftermath of a disaster, 
but people—so many people—
become their best.