Thursday, January 14, 2010

Poem for Haiti (by Milk Chocolate Midwife)

Mother of my mother
Who taught me to love
Upon your visage is an ache
For babies lost before their first gurgled cry
Memories of your fruitful seasons woven into the fabric of time
How you once wore the dewy, green bloom of youth
I remember
How you conjured up colors that hushed me
Blue-green blades of grass on hillsides
So beautiful the sun would beg for a peek
Streaking auburn fires and golden lightning bolts
Splashed upon cliff faces
Your beauty is forever
Though a cloak of fragility and desperation
Is what adorns you now
The memory of your warrior's spirit
Carried with you from Guinea
Is not forgotten
I remember
The strength of a mother
Too mighty to be overcome
Though man and beast
And forces of Nature have tried
You were born of the ashes of genocide and slavery
Baptized in the fires of dictatorship and terror
Nursed on the bitter teat of corruption and racism
You strike fear in the hearts of men
For secrets held close to your granite bosom
Secrets of your strength
And joy
Your hour of need, mother, is upon us
And as your need is my need
My hand is your hand to lift you
I am yours
You are Haiti
Mother of my mother
Who taught me to love

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