Haiyan, or Yolanda

my wife, our three year old,
and two month old
went to whole foods this weekend
braving traffic
but the construction on north ave
by the highway
was done,
which meant it wasn't so bad

the parking lot was full
of self entitled drivers
circling like sharks
so we parked on the roof
i like it there better anyway

inside it was packed
lots of shoppers plodding along
slowly pushing carts
clogging up the aisles
taking their time
tasting free guacamole
tiny cubes of aged cheese
and chunks of chocolate chunk cookies

the checkout lines spilled
into the sample stations
we were four carts back easy

back on the roof we loaded the car
and buckled the kids
the sky was mostly clear
some scattered clouds
a bright yellow white sun
hung slightly to the west
i probably didn't need the coat i was wearing
even though it was unzipped

at a stoplight
the two month old started to cry
which made the three year old cry
which made my wife upset
which made me tense

i gripped the wheel tightly
and hoped the light would change soon
and all the busses and cars
would disappear
so we could get home
and get everyone
fed
and napped
and i could sit alone
downstairs
to watch football
drink in one hand
remote in the other...

an hour or so later
my wife and two month old are sleeping
my three year old is sleeping
i'm sitting in my chair
watching football
drink in one hand
remote in the other
i check my phone for other scores
and see something about haiyan
and how more than ten thousand people
are dead
i scroll down, and
i see pictures of ships
lying on their sides
their rusting hulls exposed
like rotting whale carcasses
homes turned inside out
and flattened
into kindling
cars tossed like toys
i see pictures of women
and men
holding children
above rushing rising smoke colored waters
i press to watch a video
of the devastation
unfortunately
or ironically
it's sponsored by target
there are people shopping
seasonal abundance
with their new red card
i press another link
and read
how entire islands have disappeared
i read it again
there
are
islands
that
have
disappeared
and i am forced to imagine
mothers and fathers
holding on to their children
wet and cold and scared
crying and screaming
gasping for air
with waters roiling,
and wind whipping things wildly
through the air
i can see
corpses floating in the ocean
like driftwood

outside it's getting dark
i see a jogger go by
the bears are losing to the lions
and tonight there's a new episode of walking dead
i should take out the recycling
before everyone wakes up


From the NY Times:

Typhoon Haiyan, which cut a destructive path across the Philippines on Friday, is believed by some climatologists to be the strongest storm to ever make landfall.

Photos of the typhoon’s wrath: http://nyti.ms/1cjASbO

Maps of the storm surge and destruction: http://nyti.ms/1gFZKAa

Video of the typhoon's devastation: http://nyti.ms/1hCMvl1

How you can help victims in the Philippines: http://nyti.ms/1dlwf21


Other links:

http://www.redcross.org.ph/
http://google.org/crisismap/a/gmail.com/TyphoonYolanda
http://world.time.com/2013/11/10/how-to-help-typhoon-victims/
http://mashable.com/2013/11/10/help-victims-typhoon-haiyan/
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/09/21386694-how-to-help-organizations-offering-relief-to-typhoon-haiyan-survivors
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2013/11/how_to_help_typhoon_haiyan_survivors_in_the_philippines_the_only_donation.html
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/11/world/asia/typhoon-haiyan/
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/10/21389125-it-was-like-a-tsunami-philippines-stunned-by-typhoon-haiyans-devastation
http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/super-typhoon-haiyan-latest-news-20131108
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24894529