In the wake of Hurricane Melissa’s devastation, Professor David Tennant of the Faculty of Social
Sciences, UWI Mona, offers a hauntingly beautiful reflection on what it means to be vulnerable in the
Caribbean.
His poem “Vulnerability” speaks to the lived reality of those who face the storm not just as a weather
event, but as a test of survival, dignity, and resilience. It captures the impossible choices, the systemic
neglect, and the quiet strength of communities left to rebuild—again.
This is more than poetry. It’s a call to action, a mirror held up to climate injustice, and a reminder that
we must do better—for those who have lost, and those who remain.
Vulnerability by David Tennant
Vulnerability is living on an island
Surrounded by sea on a little piece of land
Watching a hurricane approaching
A mass of clouds swirling
Menacing, threatening
Absolutely disturbing
Nothing that can be done
About the destruction to come.
Vulnerability is being poor
Living in a shack by the shore
Watching the storm surge rise
Everything swallowed up before your eyes.
It is cowering in fear
As your roof tears
Knowing that you have lost everything
With one gust of wind.
Vulnerability is having to choose
Knowing that you must lose.
Buy extra water
Or a sanitary napkin for your daughter.
Evacuate, heed the warning
And have thieves rob you from night till morning
Or stay and protect your things
And take whatever destruction the hurricane brings.
Vulnerability is even after doing your best
Being unable to withstand the tempest.
No matter how much money you spend
You know that when it all ends
You will be back at square one
Lamenting all that is lost and gone
Starting over again
Not broken, but tired and bent.
Vulnerability is knowing that you were not the cause
Of this destruction that has put your life on pause.
It is accepting that those with power don't have a stake
And so tell themselves that climate change is fake.
It is knowing that we will remain islands
In the midst of turbulent oceans
Holding on to a prayer
That one day we will do better.
