Under The Bridge In Del Rio, Texas USA
Under the bridge in Del Rio are stopped, stuck, stationed
Thousands of migrant Haitians, not Ukrainians
Frankly, if they were the latter, they wouldn’t be sanctioned
Detained, abased, mistreated and deported like Haitians
Like herds of cattle to detention centers in Mexico or in their Homeland
It’s asinine, sad, odious, and repugnant to see the barbaric treatments
And humiliations inflicted on them by the Border Patrol agents
Who themselves are descendants of poor and once desperate migrants
Migrants, like all of us, are simply seeking a better life on a different land
Let’s go back, in Savannah, Georgia, Haitians were needed then to fight
The enemies. It’s history, real stories, which can be found under the light
Of the past. The past never lies. One may wonder, why so many are fleeing?
What are they fleeing or and who are chasing these human beings?
Read the history of Haiti, Europe and the Americas and you’ll find out
Haitians are black, not Europeans. They are descendants of Africans
That’s why they’re not treated humanely like Jews or Ukrainians
Can you dig it? You got it? Do you comprehend the nomenclature?
The system does not want Blacks to aspire a decent or better future
Do you understand? Do you get the full and complete picture?
They offer Haitians crumbs and spoiled food which they feed dogs and cats
While they give to others on silver plates: steaks, burgers, hot dogs and snacks
Oh! Yes, indeed, this entire world is absolutely unjust and unfair
This is criminal, despicable. This is something that I cannot bare
Under the Mirabeau Bridge flow the Seine and lovers
Under the Del Rio, Texas bridge, Haitian survivors
Are mistreated for seeking a better life, a better future
Because their Homeland is infested with bloodthirsty gangsters
And corrupt politicians. Because Haiti is full of vampires, predators
And hardcore oppressors. Haitians like many dark-skinned individuals
Are customarily victims of abject racism and other unheard-of rituals
Must I constantly remember the pain and shame that I feel seeing
Human beings in distress and in danger? Oh! I am not eagerly waiting
For joy and fun after witnessing so much humiliation and misery
Days and nights, I cannot close, shut my eyes to rest; I am not sleepy
I am afraid to dream, to experience more shocks, havocs and nightmares
Life is not slow. Life flows. Dreams and hopes should not be so violent
For our brothers and sisters who are desperate and innocent
Under the Mirabeau Bridge flow the Seine and dreamers
Under the Del Rio Bridge are suffering countless survivors
Ring the bells of Justice, Liberty, Freedom and Equality
For our brothers and sisters in the world living in ignominy
Don’t stop ringing the bells so that the deaf and the weak
May hear them loud and clear. Our world is unfair, dishonest and sick.

P.S. This poem is dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Our Struggle.

Copyright © January 2023, Hébert Logerie, All rights reserved.
Hébert Logerie is the author of several collections of poems.