It is a long way to the bottom of the hill,
Pushing a wheelbarrow full of sacred earth.
It is tricky to control the heavy loads
Pulling us down the hill.
As the piles of freshly dug earth accumulate,
I think of the path as a via dolorosa
For Guatemala.
Each pile along the way
A very small sacrifice,
An offering from us to the silent,
Slaughtered, indigenous people.
Can we be redeemed by our labor,
Absolved by the dust on our boots,
The stretch of our muscles?
We wonder how martyrdom
Could have come to the relatives
Of the bright-spirited, beautiful,
Mayan people we have met in the village.
We all know the history,
The saga of the US-sponsored massacre
Of nascent sustainable communities.
We feel a swelling mea culpa in our hearts
As we walk along the sorrowful path.
But we find hope in the light
Brought to our lives by Ingrid, Milton,
Rolando, Brenda, Gladys, Mida, Latiza,
Lilliana, Selina, Victor, Sonya, Daisy,
Hershan, Mario, Maira, Oscar, Anna,
Elmer, Miguel, Byran, Minor,
Marvin, Erlinda, Evalina, Elmer...
Thanks to the children of the village
Who have touched our hands and hearts
And granted us
Forgiveness.
Mimi Lang is a nurse who went to Guatemala on the Kirkridge trip in February 2004.