thinking us smaller countries are fools?

don’t they know we’re smarter than the average brer tiger

and quicker than transcontinental railroads

how dare they try to advantage us

no, this is not what Machel sang about

this is not what he wanted

they infiltrate and break our culture down

bringing us black friday sales when we’re still picking cotton off our clothes

halloween parties when we’re all wearing white masks, 

black skin but white face, how we must assimilate to get half of your paycheck

how dare you think we wouldn’t notice, the subtle infiltration 

to make us more like you

the devaluation of our own creations, so that we see yours as more worthy of our attention

and how dare we sit idly by and watch as our children praise blonde hair and blue eyes

lose themselves in Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster

as if these are anymore interesting than the Buck or Papa Bois

why are we okay with the idea that going abroad is best for our children

when UWI is amongst the top 5% of universities globally

why are we okay with packaging our culture into bite sized pieces

when have we ever been a people of complacency

how dare they

how dare we 
how dare we blame them, when we have not fought back?

only that we're growing and expanding

ever since ye olde silk road, people have been bartering

and have they not prospered? 

it's broadening our horizons, to see a new day rising

things may change along the way 

but nothing ever stays the same 

at our roots, we will know, we have to share in order to grow

and in sharing, we receive

we integrate

make better the bad, and keep improving the already good
fill up everyone's p

our economies boom and scatter

like supernovas, like bursts of electricity

you water me, i water you and we grow together

call it symbiosis

call it whatever it takes to better the world

we give to each other, pieces of what we have

no one goes hungry

no child is left behind

no woman is denied school

no man is left feeling inadequate

the poverty line no longer exists

and we understand each other better

we see cultural divides as bridges to cross

as destination markers

the whole world over will know each other, like the neighbours we are 

like the family we are meant to be

and left us starving and beaten to death

from devastation grew vegetation

flowers and fruits

we bloom from broken families and false promises of a better life

an entire archipelago of grass growing through concrete

ringed tree stumps from Jamaica to Guyana, telling their stories

almost identical in histories 

the old tale of being ripped from a familiar land and stuck in one that leaves a sour taste in your mouth 

it’s because of this, we become chameleons 

we make a home wherever we land

we find others like us everywhere 

a history of death and destruction birthed a society of colour and life

and created an unbreakable community

we are still here

we are still here 

these mountains, these spices, these people and our history are deserving of more than third world scraps

have you never heard the metre of dancehall, or the felt the bite of 12 o’clock sunbeams

The spray of ocean water at 6am is the sweetest nectar

we write you songs from our throats

every accent a lullaby or sonnet or love song
composing an album has never been so easy
every part of us is art

the chime of the steelpan should be enough to garner media coverage for weeks 

and our festivals are one of one 

how can i mention our culture and not ourselves

the melting pot unlike any other

have you ever seen a rainbow country like these

a constant kaleidoscope 

representation is never an issue when your local heroes look like you

similar histories bind us to this region

similar hurts, and pain

but similar victories 

is this not why cricket is West Indian and not Trinbagonian or Vincentian alone

though we exist separately

no man is an island

and no island is alone

when we want nothing more than to share

we invite foreigners to our land

share our food 

give them bread and ham, together with a pastelle

take them into our homes

sharing our culture is one way of keeping it alive

and so too, we want our people to thrive

our economy to blossom and bear us (fruit)ion 

things that are mine(d) and yours, products of the land we live on

sold to those who do not have to profit the people

bring the money back to us

build towers and infrastructure, 

send those who cannot afford it to school

build ourselves up without being dependant on handouts

give back to ourselves for once

paint our nails, take ourselves to the spa

tell ourselves we look really good
if only our ancestors could see us now

going global will give us the wiggle room in our wallets needed to show ourselves a good time. 

our regional neighbours know best, after us what we need

why we do what we do

none else but those who have shared our history know the way we bleed

did our hearts not constrict after hearing about Haiti’s constant battering

and though Puerto Rico is under US territory, do we not ache for their cause

maybe even more so, because they thought the harbinger of imperialism would care that they are wounded, the original deadbeat dad

when radicals leave to join terrorist groups, Trinidad and Tobago is met with a barrage of bans and warnings

but when a man kills children for no reason in schools and churches and malls and concerts, there is not a peep from the rest of international giants

which is why we must create our own little world
a breeding ground for pride and self love
a place where west indians can learn to value their history and their herstory and every story in between

tucked in the corner of the earth that self appointed first world countries cannot trump card us

no, this club is for third worlders only

developing countries and dilapidated cities only

starving children and disadvantaged women only

isn't that how they paint us?

broken and bloody and needing their help 

and the rest of the world eats it up because we all have a god complex within us

so how about we be our own saviours

cause only we know each other’s pain

only we can help each other up and out of the holes we fall into

build a better federation, one we can prosper under

Imperialism will have no footholds, or cracks in which to root up
the people who tried to knock us down won't see past our skyscrapers 
there will be no monetary issues for them to latch onto

we’ll start with Haiti and work our way through
everybody eats though
no one is hungry
it takes a village to heal a nation.