Cup of coffee in my hand

As I take in the aromas of a new day

With gratitude to see the sun smile back at me 

Not too long ago,

I had forgotten how to smile .

 I loved someone

Once upon a time

 He is no longer in my life

 I shared hopes

I shared a life.

But now, he is gone .

And everything was broken

 I never imagined

I could feel anything again,

Especially not love

But I was wrong

And for this, I am so grateful

 You picked up the pieces of a broken me

And lovingly placed them back together.

And the patched up me, even fits me better

  Because of you, I dream bigger dreams

I have many more hopes and know I am ready to share my life again.

 You helped me breathe again .

 You dreamed a dream

And aimed for the stars

But hit a little below them.

All you hoped for didn’t realize

But does that mean you stop dreaming?

 Keep the dream alive

And remember how proud you once felt to get here

Don’t lose the joy of yesterday

By being too lost in a hope of tomorrow.

Aim again; shoot for the sky this time

And you with will surely touch the stars.

And will have reached just where

You had hoped your dreams would have taken you from the start.

 Little feet covered in mud.

They will never move again.

Little arms covered their tiny faces as the water rushed them too fast and too quickly.

Mothers watched their children get washed away, never to hold them close again.

They then too succumbed to the same fate, as they couldn’t go on alone anyway.

 The image of a father holding and kissing his dead child burned in my memory.

The child looked at peace, as he slept, his fear hidden, but he will never wake again.

I will never be the same after that vision, how could that father ever be.

 Crumpled bodies lay amongst the broken buildings.

This horrid fate held regard for none.

Poverty,  an additional blow to the tragic loss of life.

Fear, before and now, tops the wounds still fresh and undressed.

 Whatever our language, or our land;

Love and pain holds the same for all of us.

Love for our children, our family is expressed and felt the same by all.

Pain, shows no mercy for any, no matter where you call home.

 As tonight I look at my children’s sleeping faces and know they are only asleep, I give thanks.

My house still stands strong and we shall not go hungry or wet, tonight.

Tomorrow, we pray that good fortune still shines our way.

But for those that the rains poured on, and the sun and blue sky seemed to have forgotten Let us help take some grey away.

We cannot heal a heart that has embraced loss of life.

But we can heal his hunger and quell a little of the fear.

To know people that he never met, care enough to help, and cried tonight with him,   will certainly bring joy to the very sad parts of his heart.

 By Lisa Ann Perez

  September 08, 2008

Many lives were lost and  the impoverished suffered additional blows .

I decided that I wanted to do something to help after I saw the images on tv  . I would later be privy to some photos ,out of Haiti that captured images of loss, I could  never forget.

I quickly got friends from my work that were more than willing to help . My girlfriend and I placed the biggest box we could find in the work cafeteria . In two days the box was overflowing !

In 5 days the cafeteria was packed  with generosity and kindness with everything from toys to personal  hygiene items, to food and shoes and even Halloween costumes. Employees  brought their goods and the goods of their friends .  It was a tremendous feeling of goodwill and huge Humanitarian effort for a little work place.

At the end of 5 days Food for the Poor picked up a container full of goods  that was loaded by the companys employees from every rank and age and gender .

The feeling of good will and of accomplishing some thing good that reached across a nation and to people we will never meet has transformed me forever. The extreme sadness and contradicting feeling of not being able to help enough still lingers.

Today, I came across those photos again and the flood of emotion came rushing in .

It reminded me that while  for me,  time and distance may have dulled the memory, in Haiti and other nations and even in this great land of America the loss of lives and of a way of life lingers on for those directly affected by devastating losses natural and other wise .

Please read my poem, ‘Send me some Sunshine’ that I  wrote in memory of Haiti and our Humanitarian Drive . May it inspire you to give to those less fortunate than us  and even to your neighbor who may need a helping hand or  thought or kind words .

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Words of promises ,veiled in white dresses and tuxedos . Remembrances of  laughter and clinking champagne glasses.

Memories of  tender moments of celebration and joy over creating new life makes us hold on.

But be not blinded by any thing that once was, when in front of your eyes all you had has already been replaced . We see it and we often know it many hours before we accept it .

Grieve silently for seconds, minutes even, but heed that which is front your eyes and known to your heart and walk away quickly while your dignity can still follow you out the door

For Kate G

For you KATE G .

Your talent made us sing and dance and created many moments of good feelings and laughter.

Your belief in accomplishing the impossible in so many different ways made us dream .
Your realization of the impossible and even magical helped us to believe that the sky is the limit, when we  believe.

I truly hope, that they were wrong about the things they said as it will no doubt taint the magic and change in how  and in whom we believe .