Think of That...by Tonya Sneed

On Sun, Jun 1, 2008 at 10:56 AM, Tonya Sneed wrote:

a friend from haiti
writes me about being hungry
i imagine that he is
about not having school fees for his son
i imagine that he doesn't
about his wife
wanting to start a little charcoal selling business
i imagine that she does
i think what it must be like
to be poor in haiti
where the price of spaghetti and rice has doubled
and here i sit
with so much power
i get to choose
to
help
or
not
how will i decide
maybe we'll go with my mood today
a flip of the coin
whether or not i feel
generous
or
stingy
or
merciful
or
suspicious
or
open
or
???
his hunger pains are
in my hands
think of that

(Pictured above is a doll in the pediatric clinic in Cite Soleil, Haiti. To the right is a "human mule" pulling sacks of charcoal, the remnants of Haiti's forests.)