The Texas Freeze of 2021
Colleyville, TX
2024, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
Duct taping the neighbor’s house’s walls in the middle of the night to prevent the pipes
from leaking,
We worked in whispered tones,
The Texas freeze of 2021 made warmth a distant light in an uninvited winter,
We faced the cold alone.
Sitting by the fireplace, the flames as our shield,
We heard our friends and neighbors lose their power one by one,
Hoping ours would hold, our nerves were made of steel,
As the rare snow turned problems into storms.
Duct taping the neighbor’s house’s walls in the middle of the night,
Our fingers stiff and aching without any rest,
The beauty of the snowfall lost by our freight,
As the icicles crept, putting our strength to test.
Listening to the silence, broken by the wind’s roar,
Weclung to warmth, the darkness felt near,
The Texas freeze of 2021 brought hardships galore,
Turning moments of comfort into moments we held dear.
Duct taping the neighbor’s house’s walls in the middle of the night,
We found strength in our community reborn,
The snow that fell gently but brought a fight,
Yet through the cold and darkness, a new light was sworn.
Reflection
Reflection
The Texas freeze of 2021 greatly inspired this work because it was a pivotal moment in my life when I understood the great value of the basic necessities that we as Americans have. By not having necessities like electricity for only two days, I understood how lucky and grateful I am to be in this country. The process of creating this poem evoked emotions of gratefulness, and the discovery of the responsibility that I have to preserve natural resources. I want the viewers of my poem to understand that if they have access to natural resources, they should try their best to preserve what they have, because other people in the world don’t have access to the same resources. After doing research on climate change in school, I understood that preserving our planet and improving climate change is indeed very much possible for those who have the power to do so. To prevent climate change, we as a society can limit the use of gas powered vehicles and transition to modes of transportation that do not involve using natural gas.