Poem to commemorate Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, 2 years later

730 days and counting

Our people are suffering

They’ve suffered before- but now their hearts are tearing
Tears dried-up and their spirits decaying
January 12, 2010- A new day of reckoning

The Earth shook and swallowed us in
Massacred our loved ones and our families
Displaced our goods, brought down our entities

[30 days]
We agonized and grieved
Grieved and agonized
Grounded our feet to our foreign-raped land
Gagged ourselves to our lost government

Help did come from distant shores
[90 days]
Billions raised and millions more

But, we died in massive numbers still
[200 days]
Cholera came and sought to kill
And though, resilient in our fight
We grew weak and became ill

[300 days]
Sick from the corruptions clenching our air
Leaders and politicians who barely care
For the stench under those tents
Is just unimaginable
And the reason why we’re waiting still
Simply inexcusable

365 jou,
Et nou t’ap tan toujou
Pou ti moun anba tòl
trouve chimen lekòl
Pou tout moun kap soufri
Bat grangou nan la ri
Rive jwenn soulajman
Anba solèy touman

United we stand, divided we fall
Oui, L’union fait la force
But, who will answer the call?

We cry out for justice
May change be our gain
That Haiti does rise
From its rubbles again

And today-
Another 365 days later,
Still, more of the same
Our men pile up in tombs unnamed
Our women, victimized and shamed
Visitor troops with machine guns
How thick our drying blood still
runs!

Our NGO’s, now multiplied

Lay bricks on crimes unjustified

A system donned with ghost-like faces
A country broken into pieces

Perhaps today-
we will look earnestly at one another
And into the victims’ weary eyes
And see our mother and brother
Our friend and neighbor
All struggling to survive

And this time, eradicating the lies
And strengthening our ties,
Stand together-
730 days stronger!

All rights reserved. Copyright 2008 by Marjory Sheba. No portion of this posting can be transmitted or used without written permission from Author.

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Marjory Sheba is a singer, a thespian and actress. She’s been a talk show host on television and on the radio. In 2008, she published her first book, Shebafied! A Poetic Journey to Self-Actualization. Prior to that, she wrote Haitians on the Move, a monthly column on The Caribbean Sun Newspaper, which highlighted the significant strides and progress of the Haitian Diaspora. She’s had articles and stories published with the HSDA Observer, Iliad Press, The NLP and many others. But, in all, she remains firsthand a conscious being—daughter, sister, and mother. She is simply a woman, living and enjoying life, althewhile seeking to be in harmony with all aspects of herself..