When Comes the Whether

(Image from Natal Mercury.) Our maid says her house was near here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Image from Natal Mercury.) An ex-house just down the coast from us.

GloPoWriMo Day 24 (departure from prompt)

Torrential rains the past weekend
Went on and on and on,
And those in Durban Easter spend
Were better early gone.

On Monday a crescendo reached:
The rain came teeming down
Without a pause, plus, barriers breached,
Floodwaters running brown.

And whether inconvenience,
Or weather damage vast —
For some a tragedy to sense
To make one stand aghast —

From leaks in roof to loss of life
Or loss of property,
Most people suffered from this strife
To small or great degree.

The leaky roof to be our lot,
And debris scattered free,
Less fortunate indeed was what
Our housemaid chanced to see.

Her home, where she had gone to stay
For Easter long weekend,
She fled as it was washed away,
With goods, life-savings-spend.

So, while with life she has escaped
And no-one else was harmed,
That home and goods have all been raped;
At least, in time, alarmed.

Three houses with three families
She says were swept away
Not sure the loss of life from these,
But seven’s what they say

And whereas we have to bemoan
A bill for fixing leak,
Missed day at school and work alone,
From all this rainfall, freak;

(Plus panel beating got postponed —
Their workshop was awash —
No answer came when telephoned,
A washout true, by gosh.)

But counting for as nothing, these,
Compared with loss of all;
One trusts that the authorities
Will answer to the call.

© April 2019 Colonialist