Published on Academy of American Poets (https://poets.org)


Yolanda: A Typhoon

How much our hands are God’s

to be running fingers over braille cities.

We are this hand pushed through our womb.

Weeping with each other’s blood in our eyes.

I dreamed that I slept with the light on.

I was asleep in my mother’s bed because my father was out to sea

and my claim on him was to feel the frets of my death sure to come.

Sweet, small fishing rod. Ears of wind rushing through many jellied trees.

We were on this cardboard earth with its puffing volcanoes

miniature baseball players and horrible winds

scored by musician’s hands.

Stand in the strong ear of this love.

Credit


Copyright © 2015 by Sarah Gambito. Used with permission of the author.

About this Poem


“When Yolanda hit the Philippines, I felt devastated and at a loss here in the States. This is a poem to stand in solidarity with those that lost so much.”
Sarah Gambito

Author


Sarah Gambito

Sarah Gambito holds degrees from the University of Virginia and Brown University. She is the author of three collections, most recently Loves You (Persea Books, 2019). A cofounder of Kundiman, Gambito is the Director of Creative Writing at Fordham University. She lives in New York City. 

Date Published: 2015-01-08

Source URL: https://poets.org/poem/yolanda-typhoon