Best Solomon Islands Poems
Last night I dreamt I heard my peacock companions
Crying in the night, so lost and terrified they sounded.
That is my life. I'm lost, and terrified. Nine years ago
At the request of my uncle the prime minister
I was sent away to America to be educated privately
And fitted to the position by the constitution of my
Country Solomon Islands I was to inherit, and become
Head of government. I was 8 when I moved.
It is kinda weird to have an entire country depending
On you to good and protect them I'm only 16 and
I already have my life planned for me in such a way I
Can not alter it. I'm not a prince but I have duties to
My people and my country as if I were one. This has
Been a strange life for me so far, really.
My Father died at 63
I’m now 75
I remember the day
I turned 63
Thinking I would finally know
What he knew
Be able to feel what he felt
See what he saw
And to be who he was
But I wasn’t a decorated
World War 2 Marine
The last of his platoon
To survive
The Solomon Islands the graveyard
Of most of his friends
He died on a Thursday
But we were estranged
‘Another woman who was not my Mom’
Looking back I wonder
What could I have changed
What words would I have used
To say to him …
(To Edward F. Behm U.S.M.C.: March, 2024)