Aftershocks
for those that perished in and survived the earthquake that hit
by Ewuare Osayande
here
there is no dignity in death
poverty is not natural
is not like sunshine or rain
this pain is manufactured
is the product of rationalized greed
as internationalized creed
a shower of screams
is all that can be heard
in this aftershock of horror
in this hell called
where blood runs like paint in a Basquiat portrait
chronicling the catastrophe
reporters rush to scene
to objectively watch the survivors die
while daydreaming of winning the Pulitzer Prize
relief workers expert in severing limbs
and severing families
set up blockades and ration aid
while supplies sit stockpiled at the airport
controlled by the americans
who’ve sent in their marines
landing on the presidential palace green
brandishing rifles rather than bread
on orders to kill the people’s will
and accurately count the dead
so vultures who’ve learned how to speak
with protective gear that hide their beaks
can harvest the organs
funded by corporations that dine on corpses
as a way of life
and sponsor telethons
so others can expunge their guilt of privilege
by texting ten dollars to their charity of choice
and get the chance to talk to Julia Roberts
about what a shame those poor people have to live in such squalor
yet refuse to cast blame
as Half-a-Buck the rapper recites
“holla if you hear me” from the teleprompter
sampling cries for help in Creole
in his yet-to-be-released remix
the proceeds to benefit those damned by Pat Robertson on CBN
under contract with the devil going by the guise of Rupert Murdoch
who owns the Bible he touts as God’s Holy Word
broadcasting to the suburban family
heads bowed at their dining room table
praying “there by the grace of God go I …” on vacation
on a Royal Caribbean cruise liner
docked just out of ear-shot
of the screams of those with legs being sawed off
while the descendants of
basking under the same sun
that burns the skin of those drowning in a sea of concrete
drinking margaritas of misery
mixed with their own urine just to survive
you wanna know where the fault lies?
just follow the 200 year-long fault line
that runs back from Port-a-Prince to DC
where Thomas Jefferson walks the halls
with his slave concubine in tow
conferring with Napoleon
on how to overthrow the first Black republic
in the Western hemisphere
for fear that word might stir
them nigras in the cotton fields down below
but back to the coverage on CNN
the announcement’s just been made
that the relief effort will officially end
as the sound of generators try to drown out
the cries for help
that would otherwise be heard
word has it
Toussaint’s spirit was seen
giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a million Haitians
conjuring the resurrection of his people
zombie Christs
rising from their concrete tombs
with the ash of their ancestors’ determination
pouring like blood from their faces
brandishing machetes in their cries
Copyright 2010 by Ewuare X. Osayande
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