They cannot in good conscience say
that I live above my means
who sucked a mango’s breast
for sustenance behind King George’s back
at Long Ground where pick pitata broke my fast
as gourmet food and rich repast;
at Long Ground where cotton prickles
pierced my skin like penance
to clothe the motherland in industry.
Why resurrect the jumbee of Clare Short
to shake a dirty frock tail in our face
like another dunce to history?
Who wants to linger in a wintry nest
of lean and stinging fire ants
one moment longer than we must.
Howard A Fergus
