Pastor's poem for Houston in wake of Hurricane Harvey is a social media sensation By Clifford Pugh Aug 28, 2017, 2:12 pm 668 22 welcome to Houston postcard with skyline "130 mile an hour winds and 9 trillion gallons of rain are no match for a city of such life and diversity.You can fill up our bayou but you will never rain on our parade." TempleInstitute.org

A poem penned by a South Carolina pastor with Houston ties has become a social media sensation and a comfort to a growing number of Houstonians. Jeremy Rutledge quietly posted the poem on his Facebook page Sunday after speaking with relatives affected by the widespread flooding in the Memorial area.

Since then it has gotten thousands of likes and the number is growing as the poem is being passed around residents of the Bayou City.

"I was surprised how many people thought what I wrote was a prayer. It wasn't a prayer — it was a poem to a place and people I love," Rutledge wrote on Facebook. "My real prayer is the donation I made this morning. I invite you to do the same."

He linked to a Vox story titled, "Hurricane Harvey: where you can donate to help with disaster relief and recovery."

Rutledge previously lived in Houston, where he served as minister for Covenant Baptist Church, so his references ring true. He encourages people to "pray like Beyoncé when she was at HSPVA or Billy and Dusty shooting pool at Rudyard's." He makes references soup at Spanish Flower and pho at Mai's, mutton bustin' at the rodeo, runners at Memorial Park, the Rothko Chapel, and the Astrodome.

"If you want to pray for Houston you have to pray without pretense. This ain't Dallas. And in a neighborly way as friends come out to check on each other in the rain and those who are far away watch screens and wipe our eyes," he writes.

"130 mile an hour winds and 9 trillion gallons of rain are no match for a city of such life and diversity," he concludes. "You can fill up our bayou but you will never rain on our parade."

Here's the full poem, "If You Want to Pray for Houston." Feel free to pass it on:

if you want to pray for Houston you have to pray in her way

pray like Beyoncé when she was at HSPVA or Billy and Dusty shooting pool at Rudyard's

pray like you're sitting over soup at Spanish Flowers or pho at Mai's steaming your glasses

pray like the kids playing soccer on the east side or mutton busting at the livestock show

pray like the runners in Memorial Park lacing them up or the researchers in the medical center looking into microscopes

if you want to pray for Houston you have to pray as quietly as the Rothko Chapel or Houston Zen Center

and you have to pray as loudly as the old scoreboard at the Astrodome after a José Cruz home run

you have to pray sitting under a live oak tree or standing next to an azalea bloom while your skin clams in the heat

if you want to pray for Houston you have to pray without pretense this ain't Dallas and in a neighborly way as friends come out to check on each other in the rain and those who are far away watch screens and wipe our eyes

if you want to pray for Houston raise a bottle of Shiner to the gray sky and say that 130 mile an hour winds and 9 trillion gallons of rain are no match for a city of such life and diversity

you can fill up our bayou but you will never rain on our parade