Those Walls

Project Write World Poetry Entry
Image Prompt #1: National Cathedral in Port Au Prince after the Earthquake.



Those Walls

Those walls stand like ribs
of a mighty beast, fallen,
bones scattered to the wind.

The pulse, a Creole rhythm, still marking time
in the heart of a crowded soccer field
a few miles down the road.

Those walls are standing tall
around the empty hull of a footprint, while footprints
pace the streets with nowhere to go.

The organ’s been destroyed, but the pipes are still there,
singing amidst the rubble of concrete and sorrow,
voices filled with hope and pain.

And the souls ... the souls never lived within those walls,
they just came to lay their burdens down
for a short time, or sometimes, forever.

To some, those walls may look like bones,
but there’s still life among the ruins, and nothing but life
has truly been lost that cannot be found.

And the pulse is still beating, though the feet
have slowed their dancing; their voices,
still singing, though anguish joins the chorus.

And what of the ones outside those walls;
the scattered body of the church,
the bewildered collection of souls?

Not even the acts of man or nature
could destroy the faith of a people
who never needed a building to worship their God;

a people who didn’t need another tragedy
to remind themselves of the frailty of life. But we did.
And perhaps now, we are worthy to join in the chorus of grief and hope.

And as we help them rebuild their lives, may we also rebuild
our faith and tolerance in a people not so unlike us after all.
And while we’re at it, maybe we could tear down just a few of those walls.


SWPoet
33 Lines