We Wished So Hard for Water

We wished so hard for water
Ached for wetness long denied
But instead of kindly water
Flames burned the mountainside.

Hot and bleached and barren
Just scars and ash remain
In innocence we waited
Waited for the rain.

In early dark of morning
The long-awaited came
Instead of blessed showers
Devastation was its name.

A mighty torrent was unleashed
The trees were shucked like corn
The roots turned upwards in the flow
The houses ripped and torn.

The rocks began to roll then
The creeks began to flow
And there was mud,mud,mud
On everything below.

Mud fingers probed the neighborhood
Mud fingers broke through doors
It took the lives of many
And took the hopes of scores

Beside the broken houses
Crushed cars were thrown aside
And furniture, loved photographs
All took that fateful ride.

Gone the special keepsakes
The treasures people save
All went down together
In the muddy grave.

But we are Montecito
We’ll dig, rebuild, restore.
Again the trees and gardens
Will grace our streets once more.