The Douen

Douens, according to Trinidadian myth, are the souls of children who died before they were baptized. They live in the forests, coming out occasionally in search of playmates, and appear as any other child except that their feet are turned backward.

By Lauren K. Alleyne | Posted: March 29, 2005

I know you well,
lost child, doomed to wander

in search of grace
life and nature’s uncertain

territories alone.
You must already miss

the warmth
of your mother’s smile

the sound
of her singing you to sleep

as you lay contented,
head nestled in the crook of her arms.

You think constantly
of the maybes you left behind,

daydream
of simple things: your room,

its yellow walls
tiny crib and fluffy carpet,

so different
than this new bed of moss and grass.

And at night
you weep a little, and wish

that life for you
could have been different,

imagine
how those other children –

so like you yet so alien
with their schoolbooks and toys –

were so lucky
they must never be sad.
Sometimes, you play
with them, inhabit their worlds

for an hour or two
in the evenings until one by one

they disappear –
mammas and papas calling them in

from the streets
to dinners and bedtimes with stories,

prayers, tuck-ins,
and kisses. You can only look

on, turn tail
and trudge back into the darkness,

your body
steadily moving into the forest

your feet
trying to find the way home.

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