Two Poems By Dady Chery: Olympics, Mare Nostrum
Olympics
The fastest runner
is a boy
who leans against a cardboard tent.
Thirst rattles
his legs.
His dry mouth
wonders.
The greatest gymnast
is a girl
who now faces her favela.
Pregnant with
emptiness.
Her brown eyes
wander.
I will never hold my breath
as they defy space
with perfect timing.
Mare Nostrum
(For Andres)
A wave brought us a shell,
reclaimed it.
The sun melted,
in the embrace of sky and sea.
I held both of your hands
with the tips of my wings.
My feet felt so free,
they lifted from the sand.
Dady Chery grew up in an extended working-class family in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and emigrated to New York at age fourteen. She holds a doctorate, has traveled the world and lived in several European and American cities. She is a journalist, playwright, essayist and poet, and the Editor of Haiti Chery.
So touching, so poignant. “Pregnant with emptiness”, what a painful, yet beautiful kaleidoscope of emotions.