Pressing Pause for Poetry: Victor Hernández Cruz

Photo via hurricane-facts.com

Sitting out on the porch this morning, the sky looks ominous. I'm not sure if I think it's ominous because I know that Irene is on the way, or if it would look ominous either way, but it feels like we're all just playing a waiting game. It's amazing how impending weather and natural disasters can do that to you! So, in honor of Irene I'm sharing a poem about hurricanes today.  Written by Victor Hernández Cruz, "Problems with Hurricanes" is a lighter poem about the subject matter, bringing just a bit of humor into an otherwise destructive and serious subject. Please know that I'm not making light of the danger of hurricanes or of those who are truly hurt or affected by them, but I think that sometimes it's nice to inject a smile or two into an otherwise stressful event.

So take a moment to pull away from the Irene waiting game and read Cruz's straightforward poem about hurricanes...

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Problems with Hurricanes

A campesino looked at the air
And told me:
With hurricanes it's not the wind
or the noise or the water.
I'll tell you he said:
it's the mangoes, avocados
Green plantains and bananas
flying into town like projectiles.

How would your family
feel if they had to tell
The generations that you
got killed by a flying
Banana.

Death by drowning has honor
If the wind picked you up
and slammed you
Against a mountain boulder
This would not carry shame
But
to suffer a mango smashing
Your skull
or a plantain hitting your
Temple at 70 miles per hour
is the ultimate disgrace.

The campesino takes off his hat--
As a sign of respect
toward the fury of the wind
And says:
Don't worry about the noise
Don't worry about the water
Don't worry about the wind--
If you are going out
beware of mangoes
And all such beautiful
sweet things.


Now doesn't that at least make you smile? Stay safe out there today--and beware of flying fruit!

Namaste,
Mary Catherine