I didn't notice they flew away,
The birds so clever, - they knew,
Knew that life upon our land,
For many of us, - time was through!

My eyes closed shut, - a burning stare,
I gazed in disbelief,
My world, the little that we shared,
In just one blink was gone!

My body aches, my mind is numb,
My skin no longer fits,
Out of joint, much like my home, -
Mangled and unstitched;

Life before was all we knew,
Hard as it was, we lived each day,
Now blood and tears , they follow us,
No path, - no light to show the way!

Hold me in your prayers tonight,
For in the new day sun we die,
I am the heart of Haiti,
I am her voice that cries.

Tell Him that my bellies dry,
My heart is near the end,
My only hopes, now buried deep,
Alone, afraid, I cannot sleep;

They'll never return to my eyes again,
My son's, my daughter's,
My dearest friends,
The one who raised me in her arms ,
Or my fathers loving hands;

I am the heart of Haiti,
I cannot say goodbye,
My home lies bleeding without shame,
I am her voice that cries!

In the meantime our voices sing,
We're in our final days,
This sound between joy and defiance,
May we never fade away!

I didn't notice they flew away,
The songbird's and the dove's,
Away on freedoms wings they've gone,
If only we could know such love.

I am the heart of Haiti,
I am her voice that cries,
That one day hope and love will stay,
Unlike these wings that flew away...

Written by: Michelle lee Schaeffer (c) 2010