Juliette Rossant

Why Do We Wait So Long?

You need a reference for famine,
an ability to measure starvation,
to count glance-wise the gaunt and almost gaunt,
to estimate new graves and potential for dying.
What hope does cholera have for weeping?
What hope does dysentery have for settling in?
What hope does influenza have for peace and quiet?
As much hope as the mud has for drying in the rain.
Or seeds sprouting
when they have already been ground and baked and eaten.

Far too much fog, too much rot,
and yet no water to drink
or wash
or reflect
where the battle lines are,
where the mountain creases to create
a boundary
a crevice of death.

It is easy to say -
We could change this.
And find too little done when next there is a reason to look.
A mobile phone in your pocket has the simplicity of design
to do one thing
that is as fast as death.
Why do we wait so long?

(November 2, 2004)

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