One morning a rooster comes into the house
and sings in my ear
strange life
One day a free man insults my mother
I fight
unafraid of the lashes
the pain
Day after day I hear conch shells blown
as trumpets
calling the field slaves to work before dawn
grabbing their machetes for chopping the cane
long sharp blades, so useless
against guns
One day I run from the garden
I hide
in a swamp
on the road
to a castle
strange feeling
this courage
this hope