Do Undo

Haitians here illegally
doing up the place

more and more arriving
doing it up more and more

though this unpredictable,
uncontrollable activity
does do up, is doing up the place

what are Bahamians themselves
doing with the place
we say we love, we suggest we love

how some Bahamians treat their home
what is their own

these islands, rocks, cays
I wonder about patriotism

is the place somebody else’s
to clean up, to keep clean
to cherish, to preserve

what we own
we treat like dump, like garbage

is it any wonder Haitians, others
imagining, concluding
we couldn’t care less about this land

land among these islands
day in, day out, week in, week out

to appreciate for us
what we seem not to appreciate
too very much

some of us appreciate
this land we’ve inherited
not even a little bit

so many of us born
to be litter bugs
to disturb the peace


© Obediah Michael Smith, 2008
8:01 p.m. 04.05.08