This poem was written by Miguel "Mingolove" Romain in January of 2011 and it's a tribute to the victims of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti (on January 12, 2010), causing about 250,000 deaths and significant property damage.
Here the lines of this poem is posted with the song "Memories of Days Gone by" playing in the background.
TOO MANY GONE TOO SOON: Haiti's Earthquake Tribute
(Poem by Miguel MINGOLOVE Romain)
The capital was still wearing its January 1st dress
The blithe atmosphere on the streets that afternoon
Was a pure display of vibrant and exciting images
Mixed with a familiar cacophony of sounds emanating from all horizons:
Music blasting from an endless stream of colorful painted tap-taps
With their crowded loads,
Caressing the roadways at the pace of the city daily traffic jam;
Countless numbers of ambulant merchants
Wandering tirelessly alongside the streets
Hawking their wares and goods.
There was also the beautiful after-school spectacle
With students wearing meaningfully their school colors
Walking conceitedly and vivaciously
Like a rainbow moving through the streets of Port-au-Prince
The warm breeze of 4 P.M was gently blowing,
Carrying away the delicious odor of our Creole dishes
The sun, sleepy and exhausted from its daily wanderlust,
Was still watching with its bright and shiny silver eyes
When, like a thunderbolt from a serene sky,
Mother Nature unleashed its sudden fury
On the most vulnerable part of my island,
Swept many parts of my land from their feet
And burst Haiti's old scars and unhealed wounds...
Like scattered showers in a clear blue sky
"Goudougoudou" savagely snatched away
Too many Manuel from their lovely Anaïse
Too many from Anita from their brother, Paul;
Too many Bouki from Konpè Malis
My teary eyes caught more than my mind could absorb
How do I count? Where do I start?
Too many heads without bodies, too many body parts
Too many "entel, entel" buried who-knows-where
Too many screams for help
That went unheard from under the rubble
Too many voices silenced by the rumbling despair
Of injured souls and frightened survivors
Too many lives expired too soon
Not enough tears to cry so many lost souls
So many days, so many weeks,
So many months have already gone
But pieces of their shattered dreams
Are still buried deep under the rubble.
The pain is too heavy for my soul to hold
The shame is weighting too much on my patriotic conscience
Unstoppable tears left their salty pathways down my cheeks
Like damp footprints on the sand,
Like those rivers of human blood on the streets of Port-au-Prince
The horrific scenes of that scary movie of January 12
Are still perturbing my peace of mind from time to time
My thoughts are still clouded by the nightmare
Of this reality show, starring millions of Haitians
With guest appearances by the international community
And that premiered on CNN that Tuesday afternoon...
At the deep bottom of the ocean of my shaky thoughts,
The same exact question I lashed out at the informant
Suddenly resurfaced with a bitter taste
"What! Are you sure? Are you for real?
When? How? Why? What the what? Why us?
Why Haiti?"
Why this fate of misfortune?
Suddenly swallowed my people's 2010 wishes
Why, in only 35 seconds, this quake crushed all our hope?
Why hasn't it left a freshly blossomed flower
For the butterflies to kiss and flirt with?
Now, Port-au-Prince has too many of so many
Too many eagles left with broken wings
Too many parrots with lost feathers
Too many dogs wandering with a severed tail
Too many mockingbirds without a voice to sing
Too many kittens walking around with broken hope
Too many doves flying without a branch to pose on
Too many humming birds chased away from their nest by blue jays
Too many bats blinded by the spotlight shined on our misfortune
Not enough coffins for so many corpses
Not enough tears to cry for so many lives
But my heart will continue to shed bloody tears
To mourn those brothers and sisters
Victims of this unfortunate twist of fate
And my mind will forever be haunted by their disturbing souls
Which, obviously, cannot rest in peace
Until all the survivors in Haiti can finally live like human beings
Until our selfish leaders can finally paint to the world
Until our selfish leaders can finally paint to the world
A good and respectable image of the country
Until the wind of hope and prosperity can blow over our native land
Until our patriotism can give wings to their dearest dream,
That of a BETTER Haiti
Miguel "MINGOLOVE" Romain
(C) All Rights Reserved!
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Languichatte Debordus - Languichatte Docteur Chalatan (Sketch)by MINGOLOVE8,345 views
Splendid
Beeblow0707 1 month ago
love it
carine1p 1 month ago