Thu, May 13, 2010

Haitian Vacation

Poem by Celeste McCartney RN

The following poem is written by Celeste McCartney, one of the nurses that went with me on my Haiti LEAP Relief Mission. The content so captures the essence of our experience that I wanted to share it with everyone.

My Haitian Vacation

My Haitian Vacation I said as a joke,
feeling a bit cruel to take such a poke, at a country that has been through such disaster and grief.
The people had nothing left after the quake,
but they managed to make smiles come to their face.
Crumbled down buildings one after another,
so many people lost their sisters and brothers.
The hospital corridors were filled with their cots,
the pain in their bodies left our stomachs in knots.
One by one we lead to the O.R. suite,
to see what we could fix while they were asleep.
The trouble of knowing who would be there,
when their dressings needed changing or finding a wheelchair.
Out on the streets the colors of their lives arose,
but the smell of "ground zero" had us holding our nose.
The Haitians are hungry and their thinness does speak,
though they walk with their baskets balanced on their heads on the streets.
The children are dressed in clean uniforms each day,
the pride in the Haitians, nothing stands in their way.
There was a joy every day as we drove in the truck, on the way to the hospital,
seeing people emerge from their huts.
They waved their arms above their heads,
smiling, singing, working, "it's beautiful" I said.
So it is true after all, my experience in Haiti was immense.
My Haitian vacation was worth the expense.

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