Haiti Will Survive

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  • Inspirational
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  • Life
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  • Death
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  • Nature

    Haiti Will Survive
    Haiti Will Survive
    Millions lived in poverty
    thankful for every scrap,
    for a thin shelter at night
    for the occasional child's laugh
    Then the earth shook and rumbled
    with nature's furious sound
    many were buried where they stood 
    as structures fell to the ground
    Those who ran to safety
    ran into deep dispair
    families lost, shelter gone,
    lives seemed beyond repair
    Nations however responded
    a call for help not in vein
    people, supplies and medicine
    poured in to lessen Haiti's pain
    Rebuilding always takes too long
    by the measure of a homeless man
    but the spirit of hope is infectious
    and soon a child will laugh again
    Millions lived in poverty
    thankful for every scrap,
    for a thin shelter at night
    for the occasional child's laugh
    Then the earth shook and rumbled
    with nature's furious sound
    many were buried where they stood 
    as structures fell to the ground
    Those who ran to safety
    ran into deep dispair
    families lost, shelter gone,
    lives seemed beyond repair
    Nations however responded
    a call for help not in vein
    people, supplies and medicine
    poured in to lessen Haiti's pain
    Rebuilding always takes too long
    by the measure of a homeless man
    but the spirit of hope is infectious
    and soon a child will laugh again

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    icu2 commented on Haiti Will Survive

    02-11-2010

    Good poem, that sums it all up neatly. But what a mess. It will be wonderful for them to all get back to normal...whatever that is. Such a sad situation to start with...who would have thought it would even get worse?
    Reply to Comment

    cmlestrade commented on Haiti Will Survive

    02-06-2010

    Good observation. I once had a sociology teacher that insisted we were not doing the world any favors by not teaching third world country's to be self sufficient. Haiti is a very poor country so recovery will be very hard. When I was in college my best friend's father had been exiled by Papa Doc. She would often tell me that the poorest Haitians had little ambition. Of course this was the super rich speaking of the super poor and as she was Haitian I thought her attitude was strange but when my daughter and I were sending contributions, current Haitian friends commented that the money would do some good for the time being but not to expect much in the way of ambition and brighter hopes for the future because that attitude wouldn't be forthcoming. This was interesting because basically someone said the same thing 41 years ago, I truly hope they are wrong and this will be a great opportunity for rebuilding a devastated country and that jobs will be created that will spur a terrible economy and open all sorts of opportunities.
    Reply to Comment

    harveygrund

    02/06/2010

    I wonder if the Haitians think that way: 'I'm Haitian and poor so I can never rise above this!' What's the point of ambition if you're sure you have nowhere to go? One certainly need not travel to Haiti to find that attitude, just look at the ghettos and barrios in our large cities. It's a false belief of course. Even in Haiti there is industry and opportunity for advancement, achievement even success but a person's mindset will either hold them down or spur them on. I wish I had an answer. When I was very young I remember we lived in a cockroach infested apartment in one of Chicago's poorer neighborhoods but Mom and Dad wouldn't settle for that; they both worked, had Grandma move in with us to take care of my brother and me, and eventually were able to save up for a nice house in a nicer neighborhood. We were never rich but we never got poor again. Your Sociology teacher was correct but she/he was describing a very difficult, convoluted process. I would love to hear more of your thoughts on this == you can communicate with me directly at: harveygrund@gmail.com.

    Poetry is what is lost in translation.

    Robert Frost (1875-1963) American Poet.

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