One More Dèy
- 11 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Septermber 6, 2026 | Written By: Dr. Erlange Elisme, DSW
Kenskoff,
I heard your name
and felt nothing.
Not because you are nothing.
Not because forty-seven lives
can disappear into a number.
Not because the homes left open
to mountain air
belonged to strangers.
I felt nothing
because grief arrived late
to a house already full.
There were too many names
waiting at the door,
too many mothers
holding what could not be returned,
too many questions
with no place to sit.
So my body did
what bodies sometimes do
when sorrow refuses
to come one wound at a time.
It went quiet.
No tears.
No trembling.
Only the terrible stillness
of knowing home
has been wounded again.
They had already run once.
The church took them in,
the way a church does.
The men came in after them.
A sanctuary is only walls
when no one is coming.
Ayiti,
how many mountains
must memorize gunfire?
How many families
must search the morning
for someone who was there
the night before?
They say more than forty-seven.
But numbers cannot tell us
who laughed loudly,
who prayed before sleeping,
who left a cup beside the bed,
who promised to return,
who was expected home.
Numbers do not carry
the sound of a name
spoken by someone
who will never hear
an answer again.
And there was a reason.
That is the part I cannot put down.
Not madness. Not chaos.
A hill above a road,
a road into the part of the city
where the embassies keep their gates.
The families were only
standing on ground
someone wanted.
Kenskoff,
padonnen mwen
si dlo nan je m poko koule.
My numbness is not forgetting.
It is grief delayed,
standing barefoot
at the threshold of home,
afraid that if it enters,
everything inside me
will fall.
One more dèy.
One more wound
placed in the body
of a country
that has carried too many.
Each absence
is now a doorway.
And tomorrow,
someone will wake inside it.
Sponsored Ad
About the Author
Dr. Erlange Elisme is a trauma-informed care leadership and practice specialist with over 30 years of experience as a school social worker. As Founder and CEO of Elisme Consulting Services LLC, she provides training and consulting to organizations committed to healing-centered practices. Dr. Elisme holds certification in Global Mental Health: Trauma and Recovery from Harvard Medical School, and has completed advanced continuing education in Trauma-Informed Care, Immigrant Mental Health, and Motivational Interviewing. She is a published author, host of the "Resilient Voices" podcast (available in English and Haitian Creole), and a 2025 Gwinnett Chamber Business Excellence Awards finalist. Fluent in English, French, and Haitian Creole, Dr. Elisme brings both clinical expertise and cultural wisdom to her work of restoring resilience in individuals and communities.
Dr.Erlange Elisme, DSW
CEO / Owner & Author
Website:https://elismeconsultingservices.com
Phone number:678-595-6446
Comments