Weakest of Threads

[carm]

Benevolence and prayers
go out to all those affected
by the overwhelming
devastation in Haiti.
I've been watching the news
steadily, shaking my head in awe
at the images of mass destruction.
The displacement of so many people
who are now challenged
with the daunting task
of mere survival,
as they grasp onto
the weakest of threads.

[Alsiony]

THANKYOU FOR POSTING THIS AND ECHOING MY FEELINGS SO WELL.

I have long been a supporter of UNICEF, and would URGE anyone to support Haiti in anyway they possibly can at this horrific and tragic time.

A
x

[carm]

Usually a disaster is defined by a community's ability to cope, not by the magnitude of the event. When these coping capacities are overwhelmed, as in Haiti's case, the best decisions are made by individuals closest to the suffering. The will of an individual, their free will, exercised most directly among the many humanitarian organizations that provide aid to those in need, constitutes a loving community. Their vision to remain steadfast to their oath to protect, surely will not be in vain, and the people and the children will rise up from grief's misfortune, forever humble, forever blessed.

[Cate]

When these coping capacities are overwhelmed, as in Haiti's case, the best decisions are made by individuals closest to the suffering.

This is so true, it's also a respectful way of giving back a little bit of power. So many people were living hard lives already, it seems so unfair.

I know everybody has seen a lot of images this week that will stay with them - this is the one that will stay with me (he looks so alone).

images.jpg (3.8 KiB) Viewed 946 times

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p.s.
Welcome to the forum Carm. I liked the idea of your poetry game, could you post another line and let's see where it goes.

[carm]

…an edge of chill haunts from a distance as each vivid image is viewed in the mind. And I try to discern something, a wish perhaps or hope that they may find some secret device to hold on to in their confined space. That it might redefine their day, as they find release from that frozen state.

[carm]

Piqued in extreme silence
Behind the safety of my gaze
Something of my spirit dislocates
As I analyze the tortured landscape
Grafted from some other reality
Ghosted over, frail, vulnerable
In that paltry, contemptible air
Time held in frozen abstractions
Captured as in a still life painting
Eyes observe condensed trajectories
Look, over there, beyond the gate
A faceless child sleeps in the corner
With becalmed, folded wings
Soporific, lost to echoes of a distant past
Disdainfully stolen on the sly
You dig deep into that dark hour
Hoping to find a means of articulation
In those grieved tones of resolve
Antipathy kicks in as it all becomes
Too personal, too solitary, too private
Those many lives stilled
Caught in fractured snatches
The soul weeps in the vertigo
Of such mass disorientation
As life impales with profane
wounds that resist inventory
We're exhausted within
The sorrow of that gaze
We longingly desire to honour
The voices of all those who cry out
Concealed by the dirt and rubble
Tethered to their misery, they collide
With an emptiness so absolute
As we retreat into our night
Appalling images still afloat
The first, haunted by the next
On and on they encircle the darkness
And cannot be warded off
Taken aback by the sheer
Exhaustive, monumentality of it all
In profound pause, prayers are offered
As consideration to the crisis
And you take a long, deep breath
As the vanquished soul recharges
In the quiet comforts of Grace
And in the knowledge that all the
Shredded fibers of this tapestry
Will mend, and once again, unite
Strengthening the weakest of threads.