Someone mentioned the word •Barren“,
Barren women ..and why not men ..and earth, they said, The argument feeble
There was a somber tone
The gurgle of hope …wasting away, even as she tried hard to …breathe.
It felt like, they had given up.. Because..
Because of what they ..saw
Or at least, they thought they did
My heart , broke, I think … it represented The cracked parched land
That the image of barren conjured
And yet, I knew
I was .not barren
And neither was the earth
Nor were the women and men No matter what ..it ‘looked like”
The word barren hit home
I bargained my optimism for realism And stayed with the pain
I thought of the Dankali salt desert lands Of Africa
And acres of acres of ..white gold Nothing grew….there.
But….
The dust storms..that were “birthed•
By this desert, that was filled with rich nutrients II travelled, much like the people of Abraham Over long distances
Till it came lo rest in the Amazon forest And delivered its nutrient ..there
Helping give birth to a forest ..as mighty as the Amazon.
Barron ?? did you say?
Although
I could see only parts of the whole,
I felt its tropism.
I remember ,
I am a doula.
I feel a surge of Hope.. Rising
Again.
– Rhea
