Written by Andronicus Enoch Muwanguzi

The once familiar streets are now rivers, my roof-top an island in the raging lake around. The rain is falling with such fervor it seems the skies might just rip open, emptying up on the unknowing denizens of middle-earth. My neighborhood is no longer a peaceful haven, but a devastating attempt at survival. Holding onto whatever structure sturdy enough to preserve a soul. It almost seems personal; the weather taking vengeance for all humanity’s doing. For all the meddling we have done in its endeavor for balance. The forests, the atmosphere, the pollution, the negligence and disregard…Why not? Let’s flood them.

A flood is one way nature shows dominance over the world we live in, an absolute “what’s mine is yours but still mine” euphemism. How ironic, something so fluid as water can pack such damage. Ranging from the serene over-low of water bodies to the rabid onslaught of fast flowing water from broken dams and heavy rains, floods are characterized by water taking charge, submerging whatever is in its way; passing through it If need be. Never peaceful, floods are a rage. A vent.

The implications of this are often on a deep personal level for all affected. Communities and neighborhoods end up destroyed, washed through and property swept away. Lives are lost, families dragged through emotional battles for all the progress lost. It’s devastating, watching one’s home be destroyed. Knowing that all effort put into raising it is now lost to the wind, or rather, the waves. Knowing that you’ve been ousted out of your home rubs-in a different kind of emotion. A sorrow, loss, helplessness, a mix that leaves one at the dreadful end of human emotion.

In the end, humanity is a strong bunch. Even amidst the wreckage, hope ensures. In the kindness of strangers, a helping hand pulls us from the jaws of despair. We rebuild, stronger and wiser, forever marked by scars yet determined to rise again. We devise means to cohabit with nature. Though slow, we hope to get there someday.

When such a day comes, I hope we are not too late.

Text © Andronicus Enoch Muwanguzi