To Joplin, Missouri

Someone cut in front of me in the carpool line the other day 

And that got me really mad

I was tempted to go up and confront her,

But it turned out to be a he and not a she!

So I suppressed my anger and fumed all the way home

(He was much bigger than me, you see...) 

I was really livid deep inside

Stressing about adults who do not follow rules.

"Car pool is not that complex

All we have to do is wait in line and take turns

Cutting in front of other cars makes me so vexed
Surely, that can't be cool!"

And then I switched on the TV at home

Only to see the news coverage about Joplin

The footage - scary. The people - helpless. 

Their devastation - palpable. 

(It kinda puts things into perspective, doesn't it?)

There I was, stressing about something as trivial as carpool

When there was a bigger catastrophe going on around me

Whole communities devastated, families brutally separated 

By huge, raging gusts of wind and rain.

Homes blown away, cars flying in the air like kites

Entire neighbourhoods turned into wasteland

These people had no carpool to worry about - not even streets anymore..

All they now had was confusion, fear and bewilderment

Rebuilding after events like this can take its toll on the nation

What can be salvaged? How do you console the bereaved? 

The mother who watched her infant snatched away by the wind?

The father who helplessly saw their family home collapse to nothingness?

There are too many of these natural disasters occurring

Too many hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis and bush fires 

Some people say 'Global Warming'

Others say 'End times'

I do know that we Earthlings have ravaged the earth

Raped her endlessly in our selfish quest to get the finest

Of Earth's minerals and resources, to make our lives comfortable.

We have stripped her of her dignity.

And we continue to do so each day

In the cars we drive, the packaging on the food we eat

The plane rides, those luxuries we cannot do without.

At what cost to humanity?

Can we do anything? I think we can. 

Let's make a conscious effort in our communities, in our lives

Try a little, conserve a little, save a little, change a little

We owe it to the people in Joplin (and all the other cities affected by natural disasters)