When the water came
and filled the streets and yards
we watched from dry ground,

and thought how terrible it all was,
what happened
to them,

as if you can really separate
stuff that happens
to the thems
from stuff
that just happens
to you,

and along the way
maybe do that trick
where if it doesn't happen to you,
it doesn't happen
at all.

Which, of course,
only seems to work
when the water's not rising
around your own ankles.