Session III

Wednesday 11 September, 18:00 SAST
Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study
With Haitian-born, US-based poet Danielle Legros Georges
Hosted by Maneo Mohale

Poem for the Poorest Country in the Western Hemisphere
Danielle Legros Georges

O poorest country, this is not your name.
You should be called beacon. You should

be called flame. Almond and bougainvillea,
garden and green mountain, villa and hut,

girl with red ribbons in her hair,
books under arm, charmed by the light

of morning, charcoal seller in black skirt,
encircled by dead trees. You, country,

are merchant woman and eager clerk,
grandfather at the gate, at the crossroads

with the flashlight, with all in sight.

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link to the poem on Poets.org