...Mermaid of OsoStrong...

It is the last Saturday of the month and Open Link Night over at dversepoets.com 

 No prompts or topics to write about, I couldn't help think of our neighbors less than 50 miles from here who have experienced tragedy this last week.  Whether you've read about it or not, it's something that could happen anywhere with all the weather changes in the world, and does in fact impact many from time to time, whether it be drought or storm. My heart goes out to the community.

Everyone is lending a hand in one way or another.

There was no duel or battle
as we know it;
no cloaks or daggers lay in disarray

No noble cause for which they fought,
Lives were lost in a war they didn't wage
The enemy disguised in global warming garb,
on Mother Nature's battlefield,
left them no defense to withstand
the dangerous shifting Lahar
Their names now immortalized in clay,
wreckage is all that remains
Under a mountain of Mississippi mud,
homes, property and trees
across the mile wide rural community
Violent like a tornado or earthquake,
horrific as the eruption of Pompeii,
now a burial place for some
in streets of brittle bones
at the town's feet,
exact locations unknown

But still I search for you at the riverside,
cold water rising, numbing my mind
Wherever you are I want to catch you,
hold you in my arms, save you,
setting you free
I'll sit upon this large rock,
waiting endlessly
Muddy brown flowers float unnoticed in debris
under a blustery rainy sky
After days of searching,
my body collapses and I cry
Then piercing between the clouds
a rainbow dives,
bending toward the swollen river-
about where our old swimming hole
used to be and we long ago met
And I see you there, as in a mirage
twirling your hair in your fingers,
as I used to do;
you are rinsing your hair in witch hazel,
playing among scented orchids;
and I see the smile on your face
as you look at me and wave -
from under the cool, clear waterfall