Monday, March 23, 2009
Poetry: I Once went to Santa Domingo
I had such a wonderful holiday in Santa Domingo in February 1997, that I was inspired to write this poem.
I once went to Santa Domingo
I once went to Santa Domingo
Looking for that golden flamingo
Like the Conquistadors long before me
I was taken aback by the beauty
With foliage so lush & women to make one blush
I soon forgot what I came for
When gold is the Sun, and diamonds are smiles
The currency of life is laughter without guile
It’s remarkable how little we actually need
When we swallow our vanity and sacrifice our greed
A swim, a smile, a coconut stew
A Piňa Colada, a breeze, and that view
What more can you ask for, a little diving, perhaps
Family & friends, good company attracts
That sense of well being, like a glass of fresh juice
This free life and culture, oh England - vamoose!
The people say ‘Hola’, with a nod and a wink
And they paint all their houses pastel blue, lime, and pink
The language is Spanish, the diphthongs are sweet
Even while they ‘Hola’, at each person they greet
Las Terrenas is simple, from another time
Have fresh fruit for breakfast, add a sharp splash of lime
When they dance the hot Meringue, passion grips the dancing floor
Looking like Olympic gymnasts, they dance and sway until it’s four
Walking home engulfed in blackness, like being drenched in a black velvet chemise
Yet the stars shine iridescent, from a billion billion galaxies
With long enticing beaches, the surf protected by a reef
You can walk along for miles, and never come to grief
The land rises high, then swoops down to deep valleys
These crenelated undulations, self-air-condition by the breeze
All covered with a greenness, the like of which I’d never seen
The Jungle as a homeland, could this be a dream?
The Dominican Republic, Hispaniola of the past
I surrender to your magic, my logic is aghast
That we could have come so far, from this idyllic Eden
In our search for the sybaritic, we’ve descended into greed and
Lost the simpler pleasures, that can and should be ours
True it helps to have your island, carpeted with flowers
And so I bid sweet farewell, to this Caribbean Isle
But while I think about you, my face shall always smile
And when I return to Santa Domingo
As I most surely must
I hope you charms still shine redolent
In that, I place my trust
I once went to Santa Domingo
I once went to Santa Domingo
Looking for that golden flamingo
Like the Conquistadors long before me
I was taken aback by the beauty
With foliage so lush & women to make one blush
I soon forgot what I came for
When gold is the Sun, and diamonds are smiles
The currency of life is laughter without guile
It’s remarkable how little we actually need
When we swallow our vanity and sacrifice our greed
A swim, a smile, a coconut stew
A Piňa Colada, a breeze, and that view
What more can you ask for, a little diving, perhaps
Family & friends, good company attracts
That sense of well being, like a glass of fresh juice
This free life and culture, oh England - vamoose!
The people say ‘Hola’, with a nod and a wink
And they paint all their houses pastel blue, lime, and pink
The language is Spanish, the diphthongs are sweet
Even while they ‘Hola’, at each person they greet
Las Terrenas is simple, from another time
Have fresh fruit for breakfast, add a sharp splash of lime
When they dance the hot Meringue, passion grips the dancing floor
Looking like Olympic gymnasts, they dance and sway until it’s four
Walking home engulfed in blackness, like being drenched in a black velvet chemise
Yet the stars shine iridescent, from a billion billion galaxies
With long enticing beaches, the surf protected by a reef
You can walk along for miles, and never come to grief
The land rises high, then swoops down to deep valleys
These crenelated undulations, self-air-condition by the breeze
All covered with a greenness, the like of which I’d never seen
The Jungle as a homeland, could this be a dream?
The Dominican Republic, Hispaniola of the past
I surrender to your magic, my logic is aghast
That we could have come so far, from this idyllic Eden
In our search for the sybaritic, we’ve descended into greed and
Lost the simpler pleasures, that can and should be ours
True it helps to have your island, carpeted with flowers
And so I bid sweet farewell, to this Caribbean Isle
But while I think about you, my face shall always smile
And when I return to Santa Domingo
As I most surely must
I hope you charms still shine redolent
In that, I place my trust
Labels: poetry
# posted by memarkiam @ 5:17 pm 
