The Second Tide
Marguerite Bouvard
Parents and grandparents vanished into the giant maw,
she wanders with nothing between her and the sky
no roof,no arms to enfold her,
no clatter of pots as when mother bent
over the cooking fire and chickens fluttered in the doorway.
No village paths to follow.
Now is the time of vultures
circling with promises to take her to foreign cities
where she will lose her name,be locked away,
be ravaged by blank-faced men,swallowed
in the second tide of those who disappeared
leaving us with grief songs,the only possible music.
Poem Courtesy of "Only the sea
keeps: Poetry of the Tsunami"
Pictures: HumanityAshore
Marguerite Guzman Bouvard, Is author of several books on human rights,a book
on grief and four books of poetry including the prize-winning Journeys Over
Water. Her latest book is Prayers for Comfort in Difficult Times.She is resident
scholar at the Women's Research Center at Brandeis University.
