Found Poem

Here is a found poem based upon excerpts of the butterfly's way, edited by Edwidge Danticat on Voices from the Haitian Dyaspora in the United States.

A found poem pulls phrases and words from several texts and blends them together to create a poem. The texts I pulled from were a collection of stories on children migrating to the United States and what they remember from their childhood and how they were effected. There were some phrases I felt that fit together well to create a found poem. This gave me insight on some of the challenges Haitians faced.

Two Worlds

She warned me of snow, muggers, homesickness, racism, alien cards, and that I would have to learn to speak English.

Port au Prince to New York City

microcosm

exiled

dyaspora

What do you know, you’re a dyaspora?! A zombie, who in the midst of the endless political discussions on right and wrong was not allowed to disclose the bad things she swallowed.

Haitian American

solidarity

disconnection

Your parents speak to you in Kreyòl, you respond in English, and somehow this works and feels natural.

You know the names of Haitian presidents and military leaders because political discussions inevitably erupt whenever there are more than three Haiti men together in the same place. It takes forever to kiss every cheek and you study about the Indians in social studies but you do not study about Black Americans except in music class where you are forced to sing Negro spiritual as a concession to your presence.

Children of the poor always have dark skin.

I would bow my head down and accept these judgments.

A zombie is someone who has lost her soul, her will, her good angel.

It has to stop.

Resource: Edited by Edwidge Danticat, (2001). the butterfly’s way: Voices from the Haitian dyaspora in the United States. SOHO.

It's been over a month

I finally put some pictures up! Take a look. Thank you, Ashley.

It's been a month and I haven't been inspired to write anything. Nothing I feel important enough to share.

For now I have added pictures and soon to put up a book review.