A poem by Paul Unruh:
GRIEVING AGAIN
April and May 2010
Part I
Grieve for the red fish and the trout
That lie belly up
Near the marsh grasses
Grieve for the brown pelican
That flounders on the riverbank
Instead of gliding proudly over
Grieve for the dolphin nearby
With oil in its eyes and nostrils
And a death ache in its stomach
Grieve for the sea turtle
The raccoon
And the lowly nutria
Grieve for the prairie marsh
As it soaks up the crude
And its ecological cycle begins to warp
Grieve for the Vietnamese and the Cambodians who survived war, Katrina and Rita
But who now sit in silence on their boats
At night time.
Grieve for the Houma, the Cajun, the Atakapa and the African American
Whose ancestral way of life is being altered
Without their permission
Grieve for the eleven
Who died while at work
On the sea
Part II
Pray for the children who do not understand
The unspoken fear and sadness
On the faces of their parents
Pray for the parents who wonder
Whether their children will learn
Their ancestral way of life
Pray for Venice, Boothville, Buras, Triumph, Empire and Port Sulphur
And for their roots
Sunk deep in the oily marsh
Pray for us all, that we may yet find a way to save the earth
And to teach our sons and daughters
To fish
–Paul Unruh
Paul Unruh is a volunteer and consultant with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) from the Shalom Mennonite Church in Newton Kansas. He is currently working on the Gulf Coast. Thanks to Lois Nickel, Director Regional Relations & Programs at MDS for forwarding this poem to me, and to Paul for giving me permission to share it.