Hurricane Ismael

September Nineteen Ninety-Five: the sky,
Turned Dark. A storm grew west of Mexico.
Depression winds would slowly turn their eye,
And eighty mile per hour winds would blow.

The storm was thought to hold: no warning made.
A flash! Then, waves of thirty feet were braved,
As Ismael turned north on boats that stayed.
Prayed fifty-two, and thirty-two were saved.

Just east of Baja California struck.
Ten thousand homes destroyed, though few were killed.
No water, power. Floods left folks in muck.
And thirty thousand homeless to rebuild.

While Mexico despite the storm survives,
One hundred sixteen people lost their lives.