Helpless

My feelings on the recent disaster in Haiti

Sitting, at dinner.

Small talk circles the room.

'Good pasta,'  'Thanks'

'How was work?'  'You know, the usuall.'

It continues.

An awkward silence fills the air.

Making the sound of forks and knives on the plate seem hugely loud.

Some one turns on the news to dim the silent noise.

That makes things worse.

I strain my neck to see the news.

Hate, Killings, Politics, Disaster

All these things now fill the room.

I can hardly stand it.

The pain of the hurt and lost families,

Surges through my heart.

Tears sting my eyes.

I wont let them drop.

I wont let the pain of others ruin a perfectly fine dinner.

Images of Haiti flash across the screen.

The pain is almost unbearable.

There has to be a way to escape it,

A reason to excuse myself.

Homework.

I get up,

Put my dishes in the sink and run hot water over them.

I can not get out of this room fast enough.

Once alone in my room,

The tears flow,

The pain for those lost,

And those injured.

Those who've lost family and friends.

I am lucky.

I am healthy.

I have safe family and friends.

They are here with me.

But I can't help but feel helpless.

Reviews

[Theresa]

I think this is how everyone feels about the situation, helpless. There is nothing we can do from where we are. I texted the numbers they supplied but still I don't feel like thats enough. I have a friend in the navy who is on her way to Haiti and she can't wait to get there and help. I think it is great that she will be there helping but I can't help but be scared for her. So much loss, destruction and heartache I can't imagine seeing it. She's going to help do the thing we would all love to do yet I'm still scared for her. It's really a horrible situation all around. Great piece. It captures the emotions very well.

[Coyote Poetry]

It is hard to see over the bad things in this world. We need to be thankful and help the people we can. We in the USA need to go back to the days of old. When neighbors assisted each other. Tears are good. It mean we can feel and are alive. Maybe the 1.5 trillion spend on war by the USA. 10 per cent of that money could shelter and feed the world hunger. Poem is outstanding. Made me think again. A outstanding poem.
Coyote

[Manda]

awww this is very good. yes it can be hard going through all this news stuff. we are thankful though so we should just be happy and live life to its fullest! well done! keep it up!

[Emily B]

you are sensitive to the pain of others . . . it is difficult to be so sensitive

but you may find ways that you really can reach out and help those around you

wonderful write, by the way

[Zeitgeist Manifesto]

This poem has a loving side and a dark side.
In some ways we the happiness of our sheltered
lives. I also liked how the situation set in after the
person got upstairs.

Sometimes we cant forgive ourselves for our callous
reactions to the hardships of life. I saw a bit of that
in this person. The entire situation was draw together
perfectly. You threw us right into the middle of a situation
and made us feel completely comfortable. The scene is
awfully tame, but chaotic at the same time.
reactions

[The Perfectionist]

I could use this chance to indulge on my own feelings on the subject. I could, but I won't. I am personally biased against this poem because of said feelings, but at the very least I can sympathize with the feeling. The sharpness of the lines conveys the thought process well, and your simple direct imagery doesn't hurt either. The flow in the first half is choppy at best, but it picks up in the much stronger second half. Well done.

Btw, two spelling mistakes.

Usual only has one L
Someone is one word.

[deeps]

I get up,
Put my dishes in the sink and run hot water over them.
I can not get out of this room fast enough.

Love these lines here, this is a wonderful write here. I like this alot.

[Murphy Clamrod]

Not to shabby, I enjoyed the read!