Young Writers Project is a creative, online community of teen writers and visual artists that started in Burlington in 2006. Each week, VTDigger publishes the writing and art of young Vermonters who post their work on youngwritersproject.org, a free, interactive website for youth, ages 13-19. To find out more, please go to youngwritersproject.org or contact Executive Director Susan Reid at sreid@youngwritersproject.org; (802) 324-9538.
“We Are Vermont Strong — Tough Too!” last year’s updated Vermont license plate reads, echoing the original logo unveiled in 2012 after Tropical Storm Irene. July 2023’s flooding throughout the state left us reeling — and 2024’s has caused a fresh new set of problems. This week’s featured poet, Abigail Balon of Panton, addresses the catastrophic damage resulting from the recent rains, and points out that “when one of us is affected, we’re all affected” — we’re all in this together.
Floods – again
Abigail Balon, Panton
Last year floods ransacked Vermont.
They stole. They destroyed. They even killed.
While the rest of the country dealt with extreme heat,
Vermont was struggling just as much with the floods.
I was lucky enough be outside the area of damage.
But I saw it on the news.
So many days of just
rain,
rain,
rain,
and more rain.
One year later it happened again.
This time it was one day.
So far, at least.
I still see people on the news.
Houses destroyed or harmed.
People praying that this year’s damage won’t be nearly as bad as last year’s.
It’s not just the people affected by the flood praying.
It’s everyone.
Because when one of us is affected,
we’re all affected.
