This is going out to
All the people in Haiti
And anybody that ever had to
Overcome any serious
Problems in their life…

The earth shook
The buildings fell
The people trapped
And crushed in their sleep
The children lay
Dead in the street
And those who made it out
Now had no place to stay
No food to eat – nor water
Fathers, mothers, sons and daughters
All helpless
Dependent and interdependent
These proud people
With Dessalines in their genes
Paying for practicing
What the world declared
The slaves revolted and
Took their independence
Made Napoleon
Give up his land in America
Still for a loosing cause
Soon the spirit of the Maroons
Would have to come
But this is a different attack
This did not come from
Someone that hates you
This came by nature
Natural causes
All of these dead from natural causes
A natural disaster area
A catastrophe
Many of us could only see
Through the lens of those on the ground
We could not smell the dead
Rotting in the sun
We could not hear
The screams for help
Nor feel the heat
But we could see the pain
We did understand that
This was beyond serious
Curious as to how anyone there
Could smile, dance or play
Astonished that so many
Were more steadfast in prayer
God must be angry here somewhere
But tell me how else would the world
Even care about
People they never cared about
People they let drown in the ocean
Before they would let them come to shore
Off the make shift boats
That were barely afloat
Surely just the idea that
They would risk their life
To get a better life
Must have shown
Some of the urgency
(Emergency) Emerge And See
Now to give aid
It’s out here in front of the world
Not even the most callous
Can be that shady to
Watch a baby die
And not feel the desperation
But if you’re not Haitian
If you’re not in Haiti
You can turn your T.V. off
Pick and choose to remember
When it’s on the news
Even as I speak
Someone right now seeks shelter
Someone right now needs food
Tell me, how do we help
When it seems Mother Nature
Has an attitude
What will we do to
Help and assist
To resist and persist against this
Catastrophic Magnitude
Still the wonderful smiles
And colors surround
And their spirit will not be
Smothered by their pain
Over 300,000 dead
Over 1 Million homeless
But they still find
A reason to sing
Bring the buckets to
Gather the water and share it
Bring the masses to come see
A people still undefeated
Full of the sounds and dances
Of the future
The worst has passed
The sun still shines
There is much work to do
And no time to complain
Their faith is even stronger
L’Union Fait la Force
Unity makes strength
So it just makes sense that
Haiti will come together again
And show the world the definition
Of independence
And all humanity’s
Need for interdependence
And no magnitude
However catastrophic
Can ever stop this

The world got a lot to learn
From the people in Haiti

© Kelechukwu Brnfre