What Follows Disaster is Up to Us

by MARCIA HAROLD HINDS

We hope for days more bright
With greater comfort and delight.
So, give us, Good Lord, wisdom and might,
To solve the problems and remove our fright.

We will keep prayers on your lips,
But our hands on the halter.
Securing the pen and the coop
Should not make our praise falter.

Required are patience and well-thought out plans
That the local people have contributed to.
For the villagers form worthy clans
That know well what they need and should do.

Common sense should reign and not ego
As they all put their heads together.
With a map go walkabout and measure
Then call for what would help the endeavour.

X amount of tractors, y amount of cash
So many wheelbarrows; a chain saw or two.
One large covered dump for collecting the ash
For the ash will make cement strong is my view.
So many hoses; so many bags of seed
So many trucks, and caterpillars too

And diesel ordered for all to proceed.
Such and such chicks should give us a start
Such and such goats and so many hogs
Set up a temporary clinic, a school, a mart.
And do not forget care for pet cats and dogs.

Let it all be calculated. Let the plans be circulated.
Let each person register his and her talent.
When they see how benefits and work are related
There should not be a single lament.

Let everyone be a worker
Towards a brighter future.
And they will be, when they see
How co-operation saves time and money.

Some say: don’t rebuild, it’s foolish.
I say rebuild better with relish.
Put no building on the coast.
Put none near a river for such a boast

Says that you know better than nature.
Make no such wager. Think how you build and where.
But we cannot leave valuable land idle with tares
Because disaster may, or may not come, in fifty years!

Nothing is wrong with rethinking some use.
Eco tourism could be an economic booster for many
Think of recreation but leave out the abuse
Of nature; mountain trails and local food aplenty

Utilise the land and put money aside
For emergencies, and to help outride
The next disaster.
You only have to run faster.

The lull is ours to use. Make it work for you.
With hard and clever work you will get through
Troubles will always come
But we can overcome.

I think I hear Ebenezer Joshua singing:
“We shall overcome!”