Freedom of My Caribbean Soul
Posted: Wednesday, February 18, 2009by Simone Galy-Laquis
January 29, 2009
Man did not always exist,
the big bang
was like a birth,
the inauguration of earth,
water filled the void
with light and life,
souls burst forth suddenly with splendor,
rooted by forces,
as place and purpose were realised,
mankind, goodness prevailed.
Man evolved, became thinking men,
they thought a canoe,
Carib cannibals and amiable Arawaks
canoed down the Caribbean Sea
and stumbled upon a chain of islands
where they lived happily
until Christopher Columbus conquered them,
it was an exploiting time in the fourteenth century,
from which came many legends/legacies
passed onto me.
In the dense ficus of these islands,
after many wars, exploitations, oppressions,
over many centuries of rape, molestation, incest,
there is the birth of a journey,
beyond the depths of true pain,
like cactus in my skin,
a mystery in suffering,
beyond the horizon of the sea,
that is bush medicine for my soul,
soothed by the sticky juice of aloe vera.
Agony averaged over time,
in the brutal exchange of ownership
by many Europeans/Pirates,
who forced my Amerindian ancestors to toil,
or killed them,
brought sugar slaves and indentured labourers,
pain that expounds a plenitude of power,
creativity, growth, freedom, eventually oil,
that led to murders of seven, indigenous tribes,
pollution, the greed of mankind.
With tribulation came the birth of Carnival,
in a melting pot of entrepreneurs,
French, English, Dutch, Portuguese,
Spanish, Chinese, Indian, Asian,
a time for high, low, rich, poor, coming together,
once a mockery/mimicry moment,
now an expression of talent,
as mokojumbies dance to the music,
calypso, soca, parang,
extempo, salsa, tambu, even reggae.
Pain that brings forth a love
that is undefineable,
that defines me,
in space and time
in this diverse ecosystem,
that allowed me to outgrow the seas,
float over into the clouds,
the product of moderated, bashed minds,
of the first man to bring snowcones to these islands,
reborn into crystallised thinking in me.
Trials from which I came into being,
I became, fearless, tolerant, strong,
as I rotate and tilt towards the sun,
which though shrinking, doubles in strength
and will eventually envelop us all,
I look forward to the impact
of a mere graze with It/God,
rhythms of my hot climate
produce changes in the course
of my historical journey and procures a Sacred circle.
Pain sinks down low, after generations of settlers passing through,
the sea dumps mud/sand onto reefs of pain,
I boil, cool, contract into molten lava then rock,
I metamorphosize as the pressure creates a lock,
water is liberated, cooling my volcanic mountain of anger,
I begin to form, limestone, granite, coal, clay,
stalagmites/stalactites, wind/rain sculptures me,
waterfalls wash my sins into the Caribbean Sea,
forest spirits/fauns/Papa Bois protect me,
the Goddess of flowers/Flora blooms in me.
I am a concoction of every part of history's mistakes,
I can fly where I want, I am free,
independent as Hummingbirds, Pelicans, Doves,
family to Mockingbirds, Parrots, Macaws,
I rub shoulders with the Red Howler Monkey,
I am friends with the Savannah Hawks, Bats, Blackbirds I see,
my roots lie in every tree,
from Orange Immortelles to Purple/Yellow Poui,
to Chaconias, Hibiscus, Amaryllis Lily, Poinsettia,
Palm, Almond, Breadfruit, Frangipani.
I am welcome to chirp on any tree,
they catch love in the winds and feed me,
the pickers of Bougainvillae cause me no pain,
the fruit of Machineel trees do not kill/poison me,
Heliconias and Anthuriums think I am pretty,
I am shut in by the virtues of Ornamental banana,
Giant Bromeliads, Alamandas, Exotic Orchids,
bouquets wrought in harmony,
there is agreement between mountains and plantations
of cocoa, coffee, citrus; the key to unlock historical pain.
I fly a local, colourful ancestry,
this is my purpose in my journey,
slow as Leatherback turtles,
hasty as butterflies,
cautious of grasshoppers,
the untreated pests/enemy,
having been hunted by deer, wild pigs,
I hunt/fish/dive now, like a tanager,
agouti, iguana, goats, mongoose,
squid, shrimp, queen conch satisfy my hunger.
Life is sweet like pigeon peas in pelau,
coo coo with callalloo leaves and okra,
I eat strength in the blue food for my soul,
sweet patato, yam, cassava, plantain, dasheen,
soaked in courage, a blend of figue, grapefruit,
pommecythere, sugarcane, banana, passion fruit,
nectar for my mind, avocado,
julie mango, soursop, sapodilla, gauva, sugar apple,
I swallow endurance in drinking coconut water and rum
whilst perched on my pawpaw tree, bearing fruit of angels.
I am connected to
the mangrove swamps and rainforests,
Coconut palms reach out and comfort me,
when life is as bitter as corailli,
soucouyant sucks my energy from my soul,
obeah and voodoo magic drag me
down to the dark energy of the Dirac Sea,
Mami wata rescues my mind
back to wholeness,
the liberation of my soul.
I am contented
in the peace of the
pink/white/black sands
of the many beaches I walk,
my anxiety subsides in the beauty of corals,
crocodiles/alligators pose no threat to me,
as I can fly
because of the transcendence
of order/harmony
in nature, in myself.
I rise above restriction,
yielding infinite qualites of peace that
manifests harmony,
that lingers,
like an elixir,
that sings in my ear like
steelpan, tassa drums,
that is like music, cyclical yet timeless,
that adapts,
is relevant, necessary.Printer friendly version
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