Tags
Amends, British, Campesinos, Catholic Church, Conquest, Cultura, Earth, Indios, Inquisition, Joy, Land Theft, Love, Mexico, Native, Native American, Pagan, Peace, Poem, Poesia, Poetry, Polytheism, San Miguel de Allende, Spain, Theft, Tradición, Truth, Usurping Land
Christ in books, the gospel
doth speake, the message of
peace and love, of what
could we peasants on Earth
argue?
Must we abandon the Earth,
customs of thousands of
years, to follow Spain into
perfect quest for perfect
biblical perfection?
What sort of inquisition is
this? Must we abandon our
gods for yours? Couldn’t
we each of us live and let
live?
Spain came to Mexico and threw
it down, but the mix converted
some Spanish to the spirit
you see in ballet folklórico
and Mariachi music.
The hills teem with peasant life
that gives the smile of purity
to the modern Spanish streets
of San Miguel.
The mix works, and Mexico is
of such…
In the North, the English drove
a hard, secular line between
them and religion, then brought
that set of lines to Europe’s
“New World,” usurping Christ
when convenient, dividing,
removing and killing brown
people with different customs
called diabolical and heathen
to garner justification.
Sins committed four hundred
years ago are still sins, and if
un-amended it’s never too
late to apologize and restore
love and sanity, give land
back where stolen.
Bill Watkins, Traveling Poet 