The City that Care Forgot
Today we
feature another writer from Northern Virginia: Patti Forehand. Patti is
working on a memoir and as she has worked as a longshoreman, her memoir
is guaranteed to be a great read! She wrote this poignant poem as an
exercise for a poetry group meeting. It is, of course, about New
Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the spirit it embodies is
instructive in thinking about Haiti.
The City that Care Forgot
By Patti Forehand
When you come to the streets of our city,
come, not searching for ghosts of what we once were,
rather arrive seeking the spirit
of what we have been forced to become.
Stare not with melancholy or despair
at our tragedy unfolded,
instead listen for the melodies caressing our past
and luring our future.
Set aside if you will your preconceived notions
and consider us more than
the sum of our fractions, our fear and our faults,
our rage and our now faltered faith.
Our bare and beaded breasts do not
define our existence
nor do our boarded and abandoned dwellings
that we once called home.
When you come, and you must,
to the heart of our city,
come, senses ready for moments of what we are now,
and more importantly prepare for
the essence of who you will become.
The City that Care Forgot
By Patti Forehand
When you come to the streets of our city,
come, not searching for ghosts of what we once were,
rather arrive seeking the spirit
of what we have been forced to become.
Stare not with melancholy or despair
at our tragedy unfolded,
instead listen for the melodies caressing our past
and luring our future.
Set aside if you will your preconceived notions
and consider us more than
the sum of our fractions, our fear and our faults,
our rage and our now faltered faith.
Our bare and beaded breasts do not
define our existence
nor do our boarded and abandoned dwellings
that we once called home.
When you come, and you must,
to the heart of our city,
come, senses ready for moments of what we are now,
and more importantly prepare for
the essence of who you will become.
Posted by Annmarie at 1/23/2010 12:46 AM 
Categories: today's words
Tags: survival Katrina transformation destruction music Patti Forehand future
Categories: today's words
Tags: survival Katrina transformation destruction music Patti Forehand future
terrific line "Our bare and beaded breasts do not"
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Lovely.
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YES! WHO DAT!!!!
I adore New Orleans like I adore an ex-lover I never quite got over. And I love this poem like a newlywed bride loves her husband.
"Set aside if you will your preconceived notions
and consider us more than
the sum of our fractions, our fear and our faults,
our rage and our now faltered faith"
POWERFUL lines, especially when read out loud!
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Beautiful and thought provoking.
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