I am currently working on a paper focused on Trauma in the work of Haitian-American novelist, Edwidge Danticat and I find the poem below and made some connections. The first time I was introduced to her work was via the daughter of a close family friend when I was in high school. That book was Breath, Eyes, Memory and I was both confused, distressed and captivated by the events unfolding in the novel. There was so much pain reflected in the lives if the characters, yet they bore it as best they could and were so strong. It taught me about the true meaning of being strong in the face of great adversities. Since then, I have read many of Danticat’s work and continue to learn about the Haitian spirit that I now realise can never be r truly captured by certain international entities that try to do so.
I recently found a poem [that I will leave below] I had written as I became immersed in learning a little bit more about my Caribbean neighbours; a country that has been shrouded is mystery and misunderstandings. It is not a coincidence that I am now working on a thesis focused on this writer; stories that speak to more than a history of violence and traumas. It had not been my intention. However, when we step back and take a closer look we are able to connect the dots of events and actions in our lives that at first seemed peculiar, disjointed and disconnected.
The Cries of the Unbroken . Mwen pa two byen I’m not too well I can’t find dey way, Di light gone. Eske ouka ede nou souple? Can you help us please? It was the shaking, The shaking Mama. It turn mi on mi head. It swell mi belly an’ shove dirt Over mi. Mi bone tremble, Oh Lord! Ah tremble! Oh Lord! Father a sinking Francois, Jean, Boukman Save mi, a shaking, a trembling Ah dying! My brother, eske ou ka ede nou souple? Can you help us please? My pride stands on the other side, Jus’ ova soah. I am dry. Brother man Father man Mother woman Sister! Touch dis descendant of a, Slave… Stop, The worms running out, Stop the hole. Father! Father… Yes, I hear you. You callin’ mi Daddy oh?! I’ll fly away to glory, I’ll fly away… **************************************************************************** The water, It in mi lungs, I try to swim but I dragging under I scream! I cry, I cry. I cry! My mind, my body My soul. My ears are filled with it. The water, In Every .cell a mi hair Strand. My heart is swimming in it. I see My ancestors. Chile wi gonna save yuh! Sa ki pa touye ou li an grese That which doesn’t kill you makes you fat. The water can’t touch you, no more. The pain in yuh chest, Gone. Hold di res’ inna yuh hand, Squeeze it, shut! They can’t beat you no more. The skin off yuh back, Ain’t coming off, Tenk God. The water running in the Basin, That is you. Wash them opprimer away. What a friend we have in Jesus… The truth is in you. The black star shine Bright. Strong. Up, Up an’ Kimbo… Kery on pep la gen gonm The people's pen can never be erased.
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