You are not good at
this sort of thing
at saying good-bye
and other socially constructed matters of the oblivious heart
You came down in violent sheets
To stop me from leaving
Furious clumps of raindrops, turning the red into treacherous traps of no escape
into hazardous muddy quicksand of the most dubious kind
Slipping and sliding into the beautiful you
The green lushness of your mountains
The haunting innocence of your people
The blue depth of your soul
You kept your promises well
Surprised me to the very end
You even sought after the evil spirits
To cancel my flight
Sent me half-around the globe
across three continents
to reconsider
The red plastered my soul with tiny specks
Traces of you
One can’t leave you
Without scars
Without the mind marred by worries
Over you
you promised the sun if I’d stay
I promised a better world
We could be good at
this sort of thing
The long African good-byes
Trees planted in our fragile souls
promises of final returns
the foolishly constructed matters
of our hopeful hearts.
written March 21, 2011 on the plane Kigali to Addis Ababa
Hi Sabine,
ReplyDeleteI know you've been back from Central Africa for a while but today I came across this blog and I was absolutely taken away by it. The stories you told about the people you met in Rwanda and the DRC are incredible. I am a college student at Colby College in Waterville, ME and am an anthropology and international studies double. My concentration is on Central Africa specifically genocide (both past and present) in Central Africa. I am hoping to go to Rwanda in January. I would love to hear more about your trip and your conclusions and would love to know of any organizations that would be good for me to look into in Rwanda. My email is kmlindqu@colby.edu. You don't have me to email me (I know I'm going out on a whim) but do know that I think the work you are doing is beautiful.
Thank you, Katy Lindquist