HOME IS THE FLOWER OF THE LAND
tierra is the first word
the island teaches us
the wind is our navigator through
this land of the valiant lord
the coasts are crystalline cobalt blue
we give all the hurricanes names
these pueblos of deserts & jungles
opens the roads to the edge of history
we are measured in size & location
harmonize in a minor key
we carry forced exoduses on our backs
our blood is a lineage of caña y café
columns of smoke to obscure
the clarity of this gorgeous sky
seventy eight provinces from bend to bend
from la mar to el oceano, from faro to faro
we erect gigantic billboards of
foreign products, molasses & gasoline
electric poles line the island like sheet music
our technical progress has invaded the countryside
we torture the muscles of these mountains
the small towns are being reconstructed
transformed by irrigation
radio waves & the smart phones
we increased the speed of development
on our backs & legs
tomorrow seems like a frightening place
of radioactive beaches, plastic forests
bare mineral shells of former glory
hydraulic energy cities & neon mountain sides
this exploding super-population hasn’t
culturally develop the next
we need to defend our island from
the statues that represent an oppressive future
we cannot assure ourselves the air
we breathe will always be free
we cannot assure that these homes of ours
will always belong to us & not a bank of leeches
the geographic position of our land has determined
the course of our history, sovereignty & strategy
we are a forced a collective personality
casualties of imperialism
in between two americas
our lack of volume, our lack of ports
our island that can be seen in two days
tourism is the mirror ball & chain
our reflections bare a narrow house
cramped by the plains, & valleys,
our vision is a trip on the immediate
extension of our landscape
if we stretch our bodies far enough
we can touch the four corners
our history would have been different
if our land was different
our heroes, our fighters who did not fit in,
who fled & died in foreign lands
may have been treated different
because the lack of space needed to create
wouldn’t have been an issue
everyone’s perspectives would’ve been broader
we are geological positioning
we are invigorating climates
we are biological constitutions
we are imperial landscapes
we are trapped in a perpetual cycle of self destruction
operating on our collective psychosis
we were once woods, pastures,
swamps & untapped potential
now a paradise in a schizophrenic conundrum
divided by invisible titles of state & independence
we are jibaros with satellite dishes
we are farmers who carry computers
we are fast food, fast highways,
corporate tools, monopolizing landlords
our hearts sit on the lap of rediscovery
our hands balance the conflict & cooperation
home is the flower of the land
caribbean & atlantic picturesque
our expression is coupled with
our anguish of yearning for freedom
our memories made of lumber, metal,
history, poetry, folklore, & tradition
this land & the century long fight for
the people & our self defining roles
these coasts are crystalline cobalt blue
we give all the hurricanes names
the wind is our navigator through
this land of the valiant lord
libertad is the first word
we taught ourselves
tierra is the first word
the island taught us.
Author Statement
Home Is The Flower Of The Land is an analysis on how post modernization has stunted the growth of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has been a colony of The United States for 119 years & has disconnected the island with the other experiences of the region. To be included in the Sacred Americas Folio connects Puerto Rico with the rest of the Caribbean, Central America, North America & South America in the fight against imperialism, colonialism, racism, gentrification & working towards liberation.
Bonafide Rojas is the author of four collections of poetry: Notes On The Return To The Island (2017), Renovatio (2014), When The City Sleeps(2012) & Pelo Bueno (2004). He appeared on Def Poetry Jam & has been published in numerous anthologies & journals. He’s the bandleader for The Mona Passage, whose debut EP was released in Aug. 2016. He’s performed at various stages: Lincoln Center, The Brooklyn Museum, El Museo Del Barrio, Bowery Ballroom, The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, Rotterdam Arts Center, Columbia University, NYU, The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, BusBoys & Poets & Festival De La Palabra. For more info : www.grandconcoursepress.com.