National Geographic #45

Based upon the work of James P. Blair's 1987 photograph of the Albert Schweitzer Clinic in Deschappelles, Central Haiti.

Albert Schweitzer Clinic, Deschappelles, Central Haiti
Valerie Owens

She is seated in the corner,
in a wooden chair,
with a purse strap hung over the back,
facing a faded white wall.
There are posters
tacked against the peeling paint.
I wonder
if the images of mothers
and healthy babies
and good feeding
mean anything to her.
I look at the baby on her own lap,
brown and chubby,
but quiet-- too quiet.
Her yellow dress,
trimmed in black,
is clean,
as is her broad rimmed straw hat,
trimmed in red.
Her body is seated towards the wall,
but her face,
solemn and brown,
is turned away.
She is looking off to where no one else can see
I feel hopelessly inadequate
for I don't think
there is a camera in all the world
to capture
the pleading,
the longing,
the weariness,
in those dark, dark eyes.