Rise Haiti Rise!

by Frank de Jesus Acosta Ashe

Rise Haiti rise! Loving hearts can hear you calling

A child’s cries rise from the rubble to shake us from our slumber
It is not a strangers’ flesh and bones crushed amid the ruins, it is mine; ours; us
Your pain, like the life blood in your veins, flows from the tribes of the 4 corners
Diaspora seeds give you roots in the womb of Africa; as we share the heartbeat of the drum

Sister Haiti rise! You have fallen before, but the spirit within will not let you perish
The boot of tyranny and strangle hold of greed brought the plagues of poverty
Even as a wounded mother earth convulses, your song of faith will not be muted, nor spirit broken
Ubuntu, inherent inter-connectedness of humanity, makes your destiny our own
Creator, hear our prayers for healing, move us to act in love for the Haitian within us all.

Brother Haiti rise! Resurrect once again, grasping the genuine hand of humanity
Gather your clans and re-build around the Sacred Tree of life
The Sacred Tree preserves the roots of your ancestors, connecting the branches of your generations
The fruits of the tree are love and culture, bestowing dignity, identity and a higher purpose
Its fruits beget the tenets of family, community, empathy, ingenuity, industry, and faith

So rise Haiti rise!
Ascend from the loss and devastation and unite your wounded hearts
As your spirit song finds its rhythm with communal tears, wails, and supplications
Drink the milk of compassion, you called, we came, a love manifest as the hand of God
Rise Haiti rise! Be restored to resume your place among the sacred circle of tribes

Frank de Jesus Acosta Ashe!