Bajan Lust
 
    Bajan (bā-juhn): of or relating to Barbados or its inhabitants
 
In swells of wet persuasion, sun-
drunk ocean licks the yielding sand,
recedes, returns again, affirms
the endless lust of sea for land.
 
The air is sultry here, the food
a spicy sharpness on the tongue,
the Bajan speech a rich dessert
of open vowels warmly sung.
 
Rum lubricates the island life,
and sugarcane grows tall and sweet,
but neither earns enough; they can’t
shore up the Bajan balance sheet.
 
The streets are patchy, sidewalks crumble,
tiny wooden houses rot.
A guest leaves natives guilt-grand tips,
for guests are nearly all they've got.
 
The Spanish and the Portuguese
and then the English claimed this place;
now proudly free, the island knows
its glory lies in the embrace
 
of two great oceans, lovers both—
Atlantic and Caribbean—
one wilder, one more turquoise, but
each equally a guardian
 
and greedy swain.  Each keeps its coast
astir, effulgent, satisfied—
an old romance in Bajan blues:
the constant ardor of the tide,
 
these swells of wet persuasion.  Sun-  
drunk ocean licks the yielding sand
again, again, and proves again
the endless lust of sea for land.
 
Jean Kreiling

 
If you have any thoughts about this poem,  Jean Krieling  would be pleased to hear them