Baguette Eater

Baguette eater
Mi Amour

Bus Livin'

I have welcomed the most spiritually radiant little girl into this world.

Her name is Imogen Tallulah.

We are back on our Eco Bus and heading North. I'm currently writing the program for our non-profit's next season which will start in October.

Balance is the most difficult thing to achieve, one tries to play so many roles, that it almost becomes easier to just not get up. But the heat wont allow that, by 9am we are sweating and up doing the daily bus routine like living on a boat there is constant maintenance and fine tuning.

We are currently "moored" at the very place I grew up. It is strange to see my children here. This morning I took Luciano to pick wild grapes and everyday he is swimming more and more. Today he dove to the bottom to retrieve his mask; in one breath he went down as deep as he could and then propels himself to the top again by kicking off the bottom. It was amazing to watch, like pearl divers in training.

Being here has made me fall in love with Florida again, it is so very hot and humid. But the air smells like sweet grass and a pine sauna. The insects are large and plentiful but only a reminder of the Earth's fertility. It urges me to breed floppy ear goats and fine egg laying chickens. But then I reminded of why it was so important for me to leave this place. Beyond my family, there are so pretty fearful and small minded folks here. Nando and I joke about them staring at him, but there is a lot of truth in it, we read their minds, "What is that Mexican doing with that white girl?" Perhaps this is regional since no one has ever considered that there could be dark skinned people from other places besides Mexico. But nonetheless, around here they also consider that he could be a full blooded Native American, in which case he deserves respect. So their reactions are mixed, and of course he is from Colombia and his father Japan. But this area is the most southern starting point for the real south, which implies a history of racism, slavery, KKK, and other sorts of discrimination, which still remains as a lite heir around these parts.

I certainly don't wont my children learning these things from other children, but perhaps this could be a nice haven to always visit, pick grapes, eat corn and swim in black water.

I'll be posting on our Bus Blog more frequently at www.ecologicalbusproject.blogspot.com

Summer Time Poem for Miami

John Agard English Girl Eats Her First Mango

(a kind of love poem)

If I did tell she

hold this gold

of sundizzy

tonguelicking juicy

mouthwater flow

ripe with love

from the tropics

she woulda tell me

trust you to be

melodramatic

so I just say

taste this mango

and I watch she hold

the smooth cheeks

of the mango

blushing yellow

and a glow

rush to she own cheeks

and she ask me

what do I know

just bite into it?

and I was tempted

to tell she

why not be a devil

and eat of the skin

of the original sin

but she woulda tell me

trust you to be

mysterious

so I would just say

it’s up to you

if you want to peel it

and I watch she feels it

as something precious

then she smile and say

looks delicious

and I tell she

don’t waste sweet words

when she sweetness

in your hand

just bite it man

peel it with the teeth

that God gave you

or better yet

do like me mother

used to do

and squeeze

till the flesh

turns syrup

nibble a hole

then suck the gold

like bubby

in child mouth

squeeze and tease out

every drop of spice

sounds nice

me friend tell me

snd I remind she that ain’t

apple core

so don’t forget

the seed

suck that too

the sweetest part

the juice does run

down to your heart

man if you see

the English rose

she face was bliss

down to the pink

of she toes

and when she finish

she smile

and turn to me

lend me your hanky

my fingers are all sticky

with mango juice

and I had to tell she

what hanky

you talking about

you don’t know

when you eat mango

you hanky

is you tongue

man just lick

your finger

you call that

culture

like your finger

you call that

culture

unless you prefer

to call it

colonization

in reverse