POEM: Dominica, past and present

Gael Jno-Baptiste

My isle, you stand tall as the empress of the Caribbean,
Your great beauty, though threatened by your young children,
Continues to attract so many into your wild web of greenery,
Which reminds us of your peaceful past and present victory.

There was once a time, a time called long ago, but not so long ago,
When the elders would sing their rhapsody in your moonlight,
While your children contented listened with great amazement,
To the stories of silly “Compain Zamba” and naughty “Compain Lapin,”

Where are the days of “Merry go round the roses“, and” Aunty Anna“
When children were afraid of the “ladiabless” and the “soucouyan”?
When they bathed in your cool and serene rivers in birthday suit,
While the mothers washed, listening to the next village gossip.

What has happened sweet Dominica to all these pleasures?
Internet children who no longer know their history,
Play Station addicts, who are confined in an airless room,
While television becomes the tutor and IPod the guardian.

As a dreadful result of this modern time technology,
Children, teenagers and youth go out of their place.
Before, people could be corrected both big and young,
And if they were wrong they’d laugh and move on.

No longer, Dominica, can your elders correct your youth,
Or push them to give a helping hand around the house.
They no longer pick juicy mangoes and hunt birds in bush,
For they are too busy listening to B.E.T or chatting on Facebook.

My island so lush and beautiful, a little piece of Heaven on Earth,
A ticket of tranquility to those who tread through your forest,
A little of your past still adorns the architecture of your dwellings,
Though the present tries to erase it with its SUV and H.D T.V.

But let’s not forget, that our present will one day be someone’s past,
So please save “our long ago,” what made our Isle great and special,
Like our Jing ping, the conch shell of a fisherman and our Wob Dwiyet,
Let’s save our Dominica where the past and present intertwine!

Gael Jn0-Bapstiste is 12 years old. This poem was the winner in a poetry competition organised by the Association of Dominicans at UVI

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17 Comments

  1. October 6, 2011

    dat is the realest

  2. Corinne E Burgins
    September 11, 2011

    Beautiful and True

  3. just saying
    June 20, 2011

    Great poem! Keep it up!

  4. Mercy-me
    June 20, 2011

    Awesome stuff Gael. I pray that you take your wonderful,God-given talents to universal heights. Great success and everlasting peace to you my boy.

  5. Nicky
    June 20, 2011

    Although I know that children nowadays are very bright, my honest opinion is that this was not written by the young man.

    I do not believe that content in this piece of writing was the child’s. I am sure that this young man will one day be able to write at this level.

    As with other contests, the poems etc are written by older persons and passed on as children’s.

    Hats off to whoever wrote this piece – great job!

    • Gael`s mum
      June 20, 2011

      Do you know that Gael has a poem which is intitled “Christian Education” which was published and that he has written several other poems?

    • hmm
      June 20, 2011

      why don’t you stick to your first sentence. Children these days are indeed bright. My son is also 12 and he is smart and loves literature to please, If you don’t have anything nice to say….

    • chippy
      June 29, 2011

      this was very arrogant and rude to say to this young man. i am a personal friend of this young man, God has given him a gift of writing such touchings poems like these. so i advice u to get your facts strait before you ‘ judge the book by its cover’

      • spectacles
        June 29, 2011

        this is very true my boy keep up the good work 8)

    • chippy
      June 29, 2011

      this was very embarasing and rude of you to say towards this young man. he has a gift from God and has a passion for poem writing. so please get your facts straight NICKY????!!! before you ‘judge the book by its cover’. instead of you bringing him down with your awful comments, lift him up with praise and good words. :-x

  6. Anonymous
    June 20, 2011

    Nice work young man,

  7. charmed
    June 20, 2011

    excellent…..imagine yesterday i wa sitting with my mom and disscussing the same thing… imagine that..

    when we use to play i declear, skip, rounders in the streets take carpet and slide down the road, pick kennip, mangoes, guava then take your beating..imagine that. great job !!!!!

  8. Texas
    June 20, 2011

    Superb…keep it up!

  9. Domerican
    June 20, 2011

    Impressive. Great work my boy.

  10. Londonican
    June 20, 2011

    Well said Gael!!

  11. Virgin Islander
    June 20, 2011

    Very very Good my boy

    • Susan
      November 22, 2011

      good job, please keep it up. away in the usa and i think abouts those days all the time.

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