HAITI SURREAL- Allegory

now that the war is over and the armies have gone
very little seems as it once did
trees are round and white as moons
they don't sway in breezes like trees do
they puff
and buzzards land  upon hard stony earth
where sparrows used to love taking dust baths
the air,once so fresh,
carries a lingering spoor of petrol


at one time sacred gardens offered wish-fulfilment
for any number of humanity's deepest dreams
and healing powers for its plaguing illnesses
now carcasses of voodoo dolls
hide in the dark grottoes
while the exclusive connections to trusted spirits
have been tamped down into eternal silence

the old believer rummages
through the dismembered bodies,
the stiff thatches of hair,
the beheaded  crones and angelic maidens with faces looking up
at him in horrified surprise

"just one complete!" he begs
to the white trees

through all the war years of waiting he held fast to his dream
of finding  his beloved, sure they would be together again when the war ended
but voodoo became forbidden
he couldn't get a mojo working
the gardens were sullied, uprooted
the trees poisoned


he bends to lift his cane off the sunken ground

day is darkening
the trees are puffing as if in requiem

for what? for whom?
for nothing for no one
it's just what they do
every day before twilight

it is the one constant
which fills his heart
with a strange peace

Haiti Republic  --early 20th century

Note:
The banning of voodoo in Haiti began in 1934 and ended in 1987. This poem took liberties with time and context.

--art by candycrier