as i walked
within the burning maze
of plague ridden streets
staring at statues
of dreams deferred
reading plaques
engraved with
now forgotten hopes
pondering
a god
thought dead
by political pundits
i saw
a freshly painted
sign
dulia
these streets
lined with the memories
of broken bodies
folded into concrete
slabs of yesterday
provide a prefect
photo op
for you
you speak of god
and
promise to pray
for those
who have lost all
but
i do not know
by what name
you call
your god
but when your faith
lulls you into apathy
then is it
god
of tears
as a student
i asked bapa dola
what is a blood rose
his eyes
filled with tears
slowly he spoke
a blood rose
is one that collects
all the sadness of a soul
i did not understand
but one day in haiti
i place a white rose
upon a pile of rubble
where my friend was sure
a child’ body was entombed
and before my eyes
the rose began to bleed
i asked bapa dola
why this happened
he said
beneath this rubble
lies a mother’s
second heart beat
and a father’s pride
ignored by all those entrusted
with the world’s alms
so that they may
gain more profit
like shylock they guard
those coins
letting these unmarked graves
stay here day
after day
and as i listened
the last rose i held
began to bleed
as if it felt
my pain
This is the seventh part of a series of poetry challenges between Jade (http://jadepaloma.wordpress.com/) and me. The whole idea behind it is to send a picture ( in this case by Vlad) to the other as inspiration (or visual muse, if you want to), and the other has to write a poem inspired by the image. Visit her site to see how she has responded to my sixth challenge photograph on her site. As a note bapa dola is an african soothe sayer who has been with me in spirit since high school….he is getting very old.
11:30 a.m.
dog walks into LA River
rescued by city helicopter
dog bites rescuers
cost to city more than 20 thousand dollars
11:30 a.m.
woman beaten by husband
no response by city officials
woman bleeds on floor
cost to city less than 20 thousand dollars
11:30 a.m.
president of purdue smiles over salary
11:30 a.m.
a child dies in the rubble of Haiti
Read Between the Minds 