Hurricane Hugo has it been twenty-years

Has it been twenty-years since Hugo hit
My first child, a son, was three-years, five-months
And my only daughter, at the time, was eight-months
Slept unaware in my bathtub padded with blankets

I knelt before my headboard
Staring out my window
Listening to the howling winds as it sang songs of terror
As the trees swayed in the midnight hours

Oblivious that my front porch had been ripped from its foundation
Hugo’s destruction tugged at my heart
I buried my head beneath my covers
As I withdrew from my headboard perch

I sprinted to the bathroom to check on my babies
But they were fast asleep not even a stir
I ran back to my bed and continue my storm gazed
Late into the morning hours

Daybreak approached with never before scenes
My front porch gone with the wind
My back door provided my only escape
As trees blocked my roadway's entrance

My single-wide trailer stands in the after mass
Was the ark for my family of three?
Weathered Hugo’s 135-mile winds
That faithful, frightful night

Three weeks my power was out
A little food stamp to carry us through
FE MA money covered the damages, and
Water left unwanted on the church ground was all we got

Traveling from relief centers to relief centers
I was turn away from the help most benefited
I was single mother looking for someone to care
Wanting a little services and goods that was locked away

Tired and discouraged about my plight
I returned to my desolate home
My room of three kept us safe from the elements
I often reflect feeling dejected

Many in charge took for themselves, friends, and family
Having been turned away by churches left a scar upon my mental state
Not being considered for opportunities in the labor force since age eighteen
Have left negative thoughts lingering beneath new grief to start over somewhere new

Still neighbors pulled together to help each other
Those from out of town volunteered their services
Cutting up the down trees, and
And cleaning up the massive debris

With all the memories of hurricane Hugo on the news this week
I often reflect with bouts of depression
That mingles with somber feelings
I often remember my feelings of distress

Blocked by the mighty from finding employment
I volunteered my services to gain experience in the offices
Was turned away at every interview
Not given the chances others take so easily

At the age of forty-eight going through a marital breakup
My youngest is finishing high school
While the three oldest have left the nest already
It's time for me to live for me

A new job after eighteen-years, stay-at-home mom
I'm pursuing opportunities helped by my dearest friend
Feeling up build from my lowly state
Of oppression and loneliness

Has it really been twenty-years?
Since Hugo came upon this once single mom, soon to be divorce
A family of three that cowered in the midnight
As a historic hurricane leveled the town of Sumter

At the age of forty-eight going through a marital breakup
My youngest child is finishing high school
The three oldest has left the nest already
Now it's time for me to live for me

A new job after eighteen-years, a stay-at-home mom
I'm pursuing opportunities helped by my dearest friend
Feeling up build from my lowly state
Of oppression and loneliness