Evacuation Orders

A News Response Poem

When the warnings first arrived / we said / Oh that doesn’t look too bad / Last time it blew over / We’ll just sit tight / and wait it out /  

“A perfect forecast isn’t always going to change the outcome if people don’t understand what it means.”

When the alert sounded / it said / Seek shelter / Stay in the house / Stay away from the window / It didn’t say to leave / So we’ll just sit tight / and wait it out / 

“This storm was notorious. It was mean. It was raging.”

When the sirens sounded / we said / Oh we’ve been through that before / It’s headed the other way / Don’t overreact / They say to leave / but it will pass  / We’ll just sit tight / and wait it out  

“We should have left,” she said. “It has never been this bad.” 

When the warnings said to leave / Leave now / We said / We have jobs / We have to make a living / We cannot afford to travel / We can’t pay for lodging / What about my dog /  We would not make it on the narrow, winding roads / We have no choice / but to wait it out / 

In hindsight, he said, it may have been appropriate to tell residents in flood-prone areas that leaving was “highly encouraged.” 

When the warnings said / Evacuate / Evacuate / Evacuate / We barricaded / We hid / We prayed / We listened to the wind / to the pounding rain / to the howls / to the walls heaving / collapsing / to the raging / We said / We would leave / if we could / but now / it is too late / and we’ve got nowhere else to go / 

“We’ve got nowhere else to go,” she said. 

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Author’s Note: I wrote this poem after reading a NY Times article called “When the North Caolina Mountains Become Hurricane Alley.” It brought to mind tragic comments and commentary after local tornados, derechos, blizzards or other severe weather disasters that have become more and more common in my lifetime.

Iowa Writers Collaborativ