Tomorrow's Toussaints

Last evening on the telethon for Haiti actor Morgan Freeman read an excerpt from New Orleans poet Kalamu ya Salaam poem, Tomorrow’s Toussaints.  The full text is offered below.   

Kalamu ya Salaam

Tomorrow's Toussaints

this is Haiti, a state

slaves snatched from surprised masters,

its high lands, home of this

world's sole successful

slave revolt. Haiti, where

freedom has flowered and flown

fascinating like long necked

flamingoes gracefully feeding

on snails in small pinkish

sunset colored sequestered ponds.

despite the meanness

and meagerness of life

eked out of eroding soil

and from exploited urban toil, there

is still so much beauty here in this

land where the sea sings roaring a shore

and fecund fertile hills lull and roll

quasi human in form

there is beauty here

in the unyielding way

our people,

colored charcoal, and

banana beige, and

shifting subtle shades

of ripe mango, or strongly

brown-black, sweet

as the such from

sun scorched staffs

of sugar cane,

have decided

we shall survive

we will live on

a peasant pauses

clear black eyes

searching far out over the horizon

the hoe motionless, suspended

in the midst

of all this shit and suffering

forced to bend low

still we stop and stand

and dream and believe

we shall be released

we shall be released

for what slaves

have done

slaves can do

and that begets

the beauty

slaves can do

Learn about Touissant L'Ouverture at the Voices Dangerous Memories pages: http://www.voiceseducation.org/content/san-domingo-revolution