Caribe
And so you climb off your cruise ship
To stare at the Caribbean natives
Who all have the same emotions and desires,
As you in your newly bought cruise wear.
I've spent my whole life here
With my wife and my children who
Now are presenting me milk-chocolate grand babies
As we blend with the visitors who came and stayed.
My food and my medicine
Are both from the land,
No need for pharmacies
With a practitioner on site.
You look and see poverty but I feel life
In my modest house on stilts;
The children do beg, but not for me,
They desire a piece of the visitor.
The Spaniards came centuries ago
To convert, build homes and steal,
Oh, yes, they brought the Catholic religion
And their diseases that finished destroying us.
We had a civilization gentle and kind,
But we took a step backward
When the white barbarians crossed the sea
Pillaging, looting like the thieves they were.
Our music and dancing bring comfort and
We greet you at pier with our rhythms;
We ask a pittance for our performance
As you make your ways to the shops.
Copyright © Charlotte Zuzak | Year Posted 2006
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