Violins, Poems, and Natural Disasters

As I was listening to a violin solo this evening, my mind's eye kept seeing images of absolutely immense quantities of water, breaking on the shore. Seeing as I had to do my blog post, I thought that it would be great to use this imagery as a starting point.

When I began reading Frost's "The Flood" (Click here to read it) , I was expecting a very straightforward and natural piece of work. Little did I know that I was actually reading a critique on the American government's ability to handle natural disasters responsibly. The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 is considered to be the most costly and devastating flood in U.S. history, breaching levees at 145 different locations. At it's worst, the Mississippi River was over 60 miles wide. Then Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, was placed in charge of relief efforts, and received considerable flack due to the mistreatment of and horrible conditions for African Americans in refugee camps. Frost's commentary is actually regarding the mismanagement and lack of control by the U.S. government during the rescue and restoration process following the flood. This has happened time and time again, and for some reason, no one is ever able to be completely honest when it comes to the clean up. Similarly, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was not without its dramas and issues of police recklessness either, and this is what Frost is trying to call the audience's attention to.

Although it may be reading into the poem a little hard, it is still one valid interpretation of an amazing piece of work...and I look forward to hearing others' ideas.