Friday, June 6, 2008

Poem: The Spirit of Ma Wouj

The fog covers the green leaves of the trees.
The night falls over the beautiful village of Ma Wouj.
And, far away, I can hear the rush of people going home,
I can listen the machetes cutting a little bit more of wood,
before the darkness is completely born.

And in the gray sky, there is a bird flying around swiftly,
dancing at the compass of the breeze,
while the children enjoy a little bit more of the light,
juts before it goes away.

And the adults prepare the fire to cook
and feed equally the numerous members of their families,
among the abundant scarcity of food in a village such as Ma Wouj.

Tonight, it is chilly
and my ears rejoice of the typical melody of the glow-worms
in the beautiful village of Ma Wouj.

Certainly, tonight, as many other nights,
you will take care of the sick ones,
you will calm down the hunger of you kids,
you will close your eyes and dream.

You will dream about a future that seems unfeasible,
you will dream about a delicious and abundant dish of food,
you will dream about your children going to school,
and dream about a cup of good coffee.

And, in the midst of my deep meditation
and admiration of your greatness,
as you, I close my eyes,
and contemplate your daily chore of darkness.
I ask my dad and my mom to send their luminous spirit
so that the day after tomorrow
I can bloom in you a smile that lasts forever.
From my heart, I leave you my peace
and in my soul, I take your love.

For the spirit of Ma Wouj.

2 comments:

Wendy said...

Marcela,
Thank you for this poem. When I listen I imagine sitting in the circle under the trees in Ma Wouj. I can hear you voice as you led our meditation, smell the red clay and the Haitian air. I remember later hearing Mary Merci, Luisely and you singing the Haitian prayers. You are a beautiful daughter of the universe and I feel so very connected to you and through you!!
Peace be with you my friend,
Wendy

Anonymous said...

Once touched by the beauty of Haiti in spite of its poverty is something that dreams are made of. To experience the energy of the city, the tranquility of the mountains, the commotion of the market and the spirit of the people was greatly enhanced by the spirit of all of us who ACCOMPANIED each other on this journey. It has left me with such hope in spite of diversity that I hear the lyrics of the song "How can I keep but singing"!!! And singing you women did! On top of that you inspired us men to sing and rejoice with all of God's people! Thank you to all of us women and men who made this experience so powerful and who are now commissioned to keep the momentum moving as we journey with our sisters and brothers living out the Gospel message of Good News..."Fear not" as is so often said in scripture "for I bring you good news of great joy..." today is born in the hearts of those who have journeyed to Haiti via St. Thomas a new spirit of love and community to all we come in contact with...our metanoia continues!