If all goes according to plan, by the time this post appears automatically, I will be at home in Haiti. I don't know what kind of poem is appropriate for such a day, but while I was looking for one, I found this article, which is several months old, but which I hadn't seen before, about how some Haitian poets responded to the disaster.
John-Dany Joachim wrote:
I went and I am back, tande ak we se de
It was like in a dream,
or one of those movies that show the after world.
Two hundred years of words I will need to describe
the desolation my eyes have seen.
Two hundred years of memory to heal the scars
many years of labor,
and many more years of relearning.
I saw Port-au-Prince with its guts open,
its bare bones exposed to nothingness.
I saw tangible fear.
I could feel the anxiety and the anguish of the survivors,
but also I saw life waking up slowly.
That reminded me of ants,
coming out of their holes after a heavy rain.
There are some more excerpts at that link.
I hope soon to be able to post some of my own responses to how things are now in Haiti.
Today's Poetry Friday roundup is here.
1 hour ago
4 comments:
God Bless you Ruth. Thanks for sharing this poetry. Poetry, prayer, and returning to work are the only ways to deal with such disaster.
I've seen a bit more about Haiti, the slowness of recovery, the frustrations with $ not coming in, & contractors struggling in the news this week. Discouraging to see the extent of the continuing devastation but glad to see there is still some media attention on working at it.
Good luck with your return and your work to help heal your corner of Haiti. Thanks for keeping our eyes open to the continuing struggles.
Safe travels, Ruth. Thanks for sharing this poem -- very powerful.
Thank you for sharing this article and this poetry, Ruth. Thank you also for your work, and for keeping our eyes and minds returning to it.
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