The Vodou Afterlife
If we believed, as NPR says the Haitians do,
in 16 reincarnations, half as men,
half as women, with a year and a day
in "the water" between each,
we could live for 800 years,
give or take, with a different body
each time, so that even when earthquakes
come, and hurricanes, and heart attacks,
even when help is hard to come by,
there is always next time, another chance
to hear what the rocks say, sense how the trees feel,
to learn again what the animals know.
Vodouisants are smart enough to know
that their big guy god, Bondye, is far distant
from creation, and cannot be held accountable,
so they send their prayers to the loa,
lesser spirits, like Papa Legba,
the guardian of the crossroads,
Erzulie Freda, the spirit of love, Simbi,
the spirit of rain and magicians,
Guede, the guardian of death.
They don't stick pins, not anymore, but
make fake people out of discarded shoes
and nail them on trees near the cemetery,
messengers to the otherworld, to say hello,
maybe, or help us out with these hurricanes,
or send us some rain in this unbreathable heat,
or give us strong magic, or to scream enough
with the crossroads already, we're already dead.
Send water, Erzulie Freda. Send shovels.
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