when the levee breaks
once the snow melted
the waterways swelled
one tributary feeding the next
from stream to creek to river to street
it would be a mess
how spring had sprung a major leak
flowers sprouting
despite nearly drowning
fish displaced inside businesses
situated within flood zones
shelterless children using spears
to bring home the bacon
for mama to fry
the way things were going
the season of regeneration
was on the verge of perpetuity
all those affected beginning to ask
if the normalcy of summer
would ever arrive
january two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
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