Houston, We Have a Problem

by Hilton Obenzinger
     from Chronicles

Houston, We Have a Problem

Hurricane Harvey
Sept. 2, 2017

Houston, we have a problem.
Houston, are you there? Houston, do you have a problem?
If you have a problem, what the hell are we supposed to do?
Houston, you’re the one to guide us, and now you have sunk.
Earth to Houston, are you there?
Come in, please.
Earth to Houston — please stay alive.
Houston, it’s 106 degrees in San Francisco, unheard of
Never been that hot, ever.
Houston, the fires surround us, the smoke closes in
And you are swept away in a storm
Houston, you are sprawled across the Gulf
Like a patient etherized on a table
We laugh for you, but we know the ordeal continues
We laugh with floods and fires and earthquakes,
With gases and flows
Maybe Houston knows
Houston, will you guide us to another planet?
Houston, we have a problem.