Colonial Century
(translation|modification of Centenario Colonial)
by Luis S. González-Acevedo
We “celebrate” the colonial century
under American rule.
“They bring peace,” Don Mario says ironically.
If they bring peace, why are they armed?
Colonizers proclaimed “liberty”
and “offered” the most precious gifts.
Today, we suffer violence and vanity.
If they bring peace, why are they armed?
What happened to the jíbaros of yesteryear?
They were battered by the northwest’s colonizing winter.
The question all jíbaros & jíbaras should consider:
If they bring peace, why are they armed?
–You can find the poem in Caribbean Poet, by Luis S. González-Acevedo or the original version in Spanish in Poemas Caribeños, por Luis S. González-Acevedo–
