Doulas help fill the gaps left by the U.S. health care system.
In A Farewell to English, Irish poet Michael Hartnett writes: “The act of poetry/is a rebel act.” In this instance, he refers to writing in Gaelic instead of English, a switch he made in 1975 to reclaim the culture and traditions lost during British colonization. It is the motto of my on-campus workplace, Wake Forest University Press, and as a poetry lover who also reads the news, I think about it often.
Challenging injustice is daunting and exhausting, but in our unprecedented political times, we mustn’t cease fighting. If something so minute as a poem counts as rebellion, what other small steps can we take to reclaim our humanity?
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During my interview with Chanel Porchia-Albert, CEO of Ancient Song Doula Services and mother of six, she shared that, before establishing one of NYC’s most successful doula organizations, friends would just stop by her home for free reproductive advice. Afterwards, Porchia-Albert would cook for them.
“I grew up seeing people be concerned about other people,” she said. “It's some weirdo stuff when you… don't make a conscious effort to be a part of a community.”
That comment stuck with me, because it is weird that people don’t take care of each other anymore. We used to live in villages and survive as a community. It feels like that basic compassion for one’s neighbor has been lost.
I wrote this poem in response to this crisis. Through my project, I hope to show how rebellion mustn’t always be loud—it can be as simple as a smile, a meal, or a helping hand.
It’s Time I Do Something
By Melina Traiforos
We are all just children
Babies
Tumbling through the world on Jello legs
Two was the beginning of your walking
But you take first steps every day:
As a Mother,
Jobholder,
A friend of someone new,
Or an R&B fan:
I've done enough cryin', cryin', cryin'
Says Mary J. Blige
It's time I do something
Like take your first steps
Toward the Assembly door
And get on the floor
Write something
Say something
March in a crowd
Feed folks in your home
Or deliver a child
We are all children
Tumbling through the world
But the steps we take together
Are steadier than those we take alone
