The following peoms are by children who experienced the flood in Grand Forks, ND. They are posted with permission. Many more pieces by children concerning the flood are coming.

One Day
One fine day,
well, actually, it wasn't so fine,
they said the flood crest was 49.
Hannah was blowing,
the river was flowing.
Help, help! The water is at my door.
Now it's going onto my floor.
Ring, ring, you must evacuate.
Grandma says, "Don't be late."
I am mad I lost some stuff.
My mom said we have to be tough.

Waiting
I am bored.
I am tried.
How much longer will this take?
Waiting, waiting, we have been waiting all day.
Waiting for the FEMA guy.
Waiting for the "Angel Fund."
The Hardest Thing to Lose
My mom lost her Christmas crafts.
Our family lost some summer clothes.
We lost our washer and our dryer.
Our freezer had tipped over, and smelled really bad.
Our basement was really muddy.
It was sad to look at it.

What I Think
This is what I think of the flood.
I think it is,
muddy
icky
sticky
fishy
stinky
moldy
snowy
icy
messy
gummy
mushy
slimy.
That's what I think of the FLOOD.

Leah, 5th grade

Making It Through

It used to be that the daycare kids ran around and trampled on the carpet
floor.
It used to be that we sledded down the rigid dike, bumping from side to
side, making slush by the minute.
Now we hear thumping sandbags jumping from arm to arm.
My dad said that the water would never trickle to our house,
but I know now that even though people say things,
it's not always true
and that water can change a person's life so much.
At Dana's house, Mom was crying, like when a special friend has died.
Water was rushing up our street, as fast as you drive your car when the
streets are icy.
I evacuated to Valley City.
First I stayed in a hotel
then in a camper in the driveway of my aunt and uncle's house.
I was worried as I combed my hair to go to Washington Elementary.
In my stomach, it felt like a bomb was exploding.
My legs felt like they were in the next room.
I was worried as I thought about if our house was drowning.
I was worried as I thought about if there was anything to come back to.
As I was walking down the creaky stairs, I put my hand on the soggy wet
basement walls that felt like a newspaper
outside on a rainy day.
I know now what it is like to screech the wheelbarrow
down the driveway to the big pile on the berm for the truck to pick up.
I smelled mud that smelled like off-tint brown, molding sewer water.
I ate Red Cross food that tasted like the food that you eat in your
cafeteria at school.
As I was looking at our pile, I saw a little plaque with a poem on it
about friends.
The print was slithering off
yet I had never seen it before. It almost made me cry.
Now that's how I made it through.

Hillary, 5th grade

Flood Damage

I saw broken glass from the window of my house.
It looked like a horse, a dirty horse.
I felt mud. It felt soft, like soft hair.
I heard glass breaking when we were throwing garbage away.
It sounded like a quiet "ching."
I tasted some candy from the gas station. It tasted good.
I smelled flood water.
It smelled like root beer pop to me.
This is my new house. I am glad that the flood is over.

Emily, kindergarten

The Big, Big Flood

I touched my dog Gabby.
She felt soggy.
I heard sirens, and they sounded like screaming.
I saw people crying. It looked like broken hearts.
It looked like rain falling down their faces.
The muck and old fish smelled bad.
I tasted Red Cross food. It tasted like junk.
A pontoon came lolloping in the waves into my yard.

Lacey, 5th grade

I heard loud water. It sounded like trash cans banging together.
I smelled dirty water. It smelled like mud.
I saw people evacuating. They looked sad.
I touched my mom's friend's dog. It felt soft.
I felt sad because I saw my family feeling sad.
I felt happy when I was able to get my teddy bear and some pillows and blankets out of my house before the water came.
I felt afraid when I was at my grandma's house, because I thought the water was quickly coming our way.
I tasted Red Cross sandwiches. They tasted good.

Aubrey, 1-2 grade

Flood!

I smelled the flood
and it smelled like rotten fish.
I wish I could take a big bottle of air freshener
and spray it all over.
I wonder if the smell will ever go away.
I tasted the food from the Red Cross
and I asked my mom if I could have snacks,
but she said,
"EAT YOUR FOOD."
I want to go home!
I heard a fire.
I was scared because my cat was in my dad's office
and there was a fire on his office.
I touched the flood water, and it was as strong as a weight lifter
and it nearly pulled me in.
My dad said the current was strong today.
I saw a disaster,
and it looked like a war.
My house looked like a bombing field.
I wish this was over.

Andrew, 5th grade

I saw dirt everywhere after the flood.
We had to take all my toys out and throw them away.
I didn't touch anything without a glove.
The ceiling was falling down, and I had to run.
It made a big splash.
We had to take white stuff out of the wall.
We had to get a new washing machine.
It smelled like dirty water.
After we were done with my grandma's house, we had to get my baby clothes
out. They had to get the bricks out.
We had to help at Grandma's and paint all over.
Now we are done,
After the flood came tous, we had to go to Inkster with my grandma's mom.
We went to Inkster yesterday and my cousin came.

Kodie, kindergarten

The big,big flood

I felt surprised when my grandma and I were on our way back from the store.
We saw my dad walking, so we picked him up.
He had been sandbagging.
I had to be evacuated twice. I felt nervous.
After we were evacuated the second time,
I thought we would have to be evacuated a third time,
but my aunt and uncle's was safe.
That's where we were staying.
I smelled my muddy basement. It smelled like the sewer was plugged.
I heard about the fire. People were worried and serious.
I tasted Fruit Roll-ups when I was evacuated.
I was embarrassed when I went walking in puddles with my uncle
and my boots got stuck, twice.
One boot came off, right in the middle of a puddle, and I couldn't balance,
so I put my foot in the mud. I had to take a shower and change my socks.
I saw my muddy basement. It looked like dirty pond water.
I felt my once contaminated toys.
They felt like really textured rock.

Zach, 1-2 grade

The Rough Flood

I heard people knocking on doors
to tell us the flood was coming.
I saw mold on my ceiling.
It was as green as grass.
I smelled the mold.
It smelled like gross water.
I tasted a moldy taste.
I couldn't touch anything
because my parents wouldn't let me touch
the mold stuff.
I was sad because I lost almost all of my stuffed animals and toys.
I cried when I saw my radio in the mud in my bedroom.
I was very excited when I got to move back into my old house.
I couldn't wait to play with my friends again!

Brittany, 1-2 grade

Rushing Flood

I saw a lot of rushing water.
It looked really wet,
as wet as a soaking wet towel.
I heard a lot of sirens.
They sounded like loud horns.
I was sad when I had to move out of my house
because they made us evacuate.
I tasted Salvation Army food every day.
It tasted as good as pizza.
I was mad when I saw my basement,
because it was full of dirty water.
I touched a toy that was really sticky, when I cleaned up.
It was as sticky as gum.
I smelled gas.
It smelled like bad sewer water.
I was glad when I got to move back into my house.
We didn't get water on our main floor or in my room.

Matt, 1-2 grade

Big, big Flood

I saw water rising fast in the streets,
like water in the sink.
I touched the cat to keep it company and quiet
on the way to the base.
I smelled stinky water.
It smelled like rotten fish.
I tasted Red Cross potato chips every day.
They were as crunchy as chocolate bars with nuts.
I heard the bulldozers taking down buildings.
They were as loud as twelve cheetahs running.

Randy, 1-2 grade

Bad Flood

I saw water.
It looked like blue clouds.
I touched the water.
It was cool as salt.
I heard that we were going to go away.
My daddy's voice was happy.
My daddy had some food and it tasted like chicken.
It was as warm as fire.
I smelled food in the house I was leaving.
It was broccoli.
Broccoli smells like grass.

Travis, kindergarten

My Feelings of the Flood

I heard sirens.
They sounded like my telephone that is really loud and keeps going until
you answer it.
I was scared when I heard that the flood came, and I started to cry.
I smelled coffee that was cooking in the morning when we were at the hotel.
It smelled like hot chocolate.
I tasted coffee at the hotel.
It was like hot chocolate with sugar in it.
I was sad when I went to my grandma's house in Fischer.
The principal said there might not be enough room for me in the class.
Then he went to the class and came back one minute later,
and he said the teacher had an extra desk, so I could go to that class.
I saw lots of flood water.
It looked like dirty water in a lake.
My dad said if I was really careful, I could touch some of the flood water.
It felt like water out of my bathtub or sink.
I was happy that I got food from the Salvation Army, because we didn't have
any food in our house.

Kristen, 1-2 grade

Big, Sad Flood

When we went to St. Cloud, I was crying because my dad had to stay.
He is a sheriff and had to help sandbag.
When people got to their houses to see them, I heard the sound of crying.
It sounded as loud as honking a car horn.
I smelled rotten fish.
I tasted cold Gatorade, as good as pop.
I felt our moldy couch. It felt like a fluffy dog.
We lost a lot of toys.
The big toys were in the basement--my train set and my Batman guys and my
talkie talkies.

John, 1-2 grade

These word pictures were created by students at Bingham Academy in Ethiopia.