we are bracing for hurricane irene. yes, a hurricane. which is strange since hurricanes--not to mention earthquakes, tho we had one last week--don't ever happen in new york.

i imagine that it has something to do with global warming, and that a pestilence is not far behind, but right now i am focusing less on the impending apocalypse and more on batteries and extra water in the event of a power outage. i would also mention that we are approaching the sixth anniversary of hurricane katrina that claimed over 1800 lives--and cost $81 billion in damage--in the american gulf coast, exposing fatal deficiencies in the nation's disaster responsiveness.

i have often wondered what would have happened if hurricane katrina had struck the financial capital of the world as opposed to one of the poorest regions in the united states. would people have died in their homes, in the streets, in hospitals and shelters? would the police have turned their guns on civilians seeking shelter and staged a cover up to obscure the truth?

many are still waiting for justice--and now we wait and see what will happen in new york. it seems that governor cuomo has already dispatched 2000 national guard troops, evacuating several areas of the city to shelters on higher ground. we are safe here in the bronx, i think, though it hasn't stopped raining in hours.

i am not good at being indoors for long, but at least i am writing.

i might also mention that i recently ran into naima, one half of the group climbing poetree, who staged a traveling production of hurricane season: the hidden messages in water. she told me that they are regrouping and working on new material, tho suddenly it seems they needn't bother. we are all still drowning, trying to recover ourselves. and i am sure their call for a shift in universal consciousness to combat "unnatural" disasters is no less timely now than it was then.

to those who found their spiritual homes six years ago, and those still living trying to recover themselves: amen. --AL.