LAMENT OF THE TAINO MAN
A Poem
by Austin Mitchell
They came to our lands
Searching for faraway lands
We gave them food and water
From our land of wood and water
Then they returned to take away our lands
They brought their plagues to kill us
Their diseases are foreign to our lands
Their plan was to get rid of us
We know that was their plan
Because we heard them talking
And making plans
Yes, we heard them talking
About taking away our lands
Putting us to work the lands
To make them rich
And when they get rich
They would depart these lands
They have gotten rid of my people
Through their plagues and their cruelty
Our people could not stand their cruelty
We had no weapons to fight these people
They’ve wiped us out
Several generations of us
Who is to tell our story, but us?
Sadly, our conquerors have wiped us out
WASH DAY
A Poem
by Austin Mitchell
It was wash day yet again
Heavy baskets to carry
Down to the river again
All of us had to hurry
To get first use of the rocks
On which to spread our clothes
We would beat the clothes on the rocks
To get the dirt out of those clothes
Wash day was really sweet
We had lots of food to eat
Lots of vegetables and meat
And lots of things to drink
While our mothers were washing
We were busy making drinks and cooking
Food for everyone to eat and drink
And while our mothers bathed upstream
We were swimming downstream
Finally, wash day was over
We headed for home with our clothes
Baskets of fresh, clean clothes
Another wash day was over