Galveston, Dark Tides

Turn of the century
 There came a mighty surge
 And it washed away
 This city's sweat and blood
 The Gulf was stealing lives
 Young, old, and in between
 Ripped the clothes off their backs
 Disaster unforeseen
 The wind beat down the city
 The water climbed and grew
 Roof tiles as deadly as swords
 Debris impaled and flew
 It dragged on through the night
 The dreadful screams and cries
 With nothing left intact
 After receding tides
 It was dark times
 Over six thousand killed
 In several hours of horror
 We dropped their bodies at sea
 But they washed back to the shore
 And now our city mourned
 And burned our dead in pyres
 Mama lost her mama
 Granddaddy lost his wife
 It was a gruesome time
 It was so hard to take
 Recalling talk of a sea wall
 But no priority
 And now the years have passed
 I'm thinking of that time
 Thinking of the storm
 And what it washed away
 With its dark tides