Potable

Potable

I wanted to document and archive my experience of life in Asheville during and after Hurricane Helene as someone who did not evacuate and adapted to the ever-changing experiences and landscapes (natural and cultural) in day-to-day life. I wrote everything down on a tiny notepad that I kept in my pocket while working almost every day at a grocery store as an essential worker helping the community during the most intense days following the storm, while also navigating my own feelings and experiences as a member of the community. I wanted to chronicle that period in my own life and in the lives of local citizens in that Fall 2024. I compiled the notepad entries into this poem in Spring 2025.

English