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Alister Hughes Birthday, 1919, and Caribbean Man
[This from the e-mail group and web site at www.grenada-history.org. January 21st is Alister’s birthday. Sometime this year we hope to see the posthumous release of Alister’s memoir and history of the Grenadan revolution. ]
CARIBBEAN MAN
by Alister Hughes, Journalist and Poet, 1919 – 2005
“His poem Caribbean Man tells all this. Written in 1990, it speaks of his passion for country, place and homeland. His poem “Flotsam” says “Once jewels in a monarch’s crown, now flotsam in a carib sea” etc etc. His life-long search for Caribbean unity was never forsaken. His light spirit and optimistic personality covered a relentless and purposeful Will.” .. . . from a note announcing Alister’s death on 28 February 2005
We’re now independent, yes, massa day done,We’re free. It’s a new day which now has begun.So please, let’s get working as hard as we canTo foster the growth of Caribbean Man.Let’s take a look backward, remember with prideThose brave ones who stood up and battled the tide,Who braced up and faced it when all others ran,Who fought for the birth of Caribbean Man.Paul Bogle, as brave as you ever will find,And Gordon, like true steel in fire refined,They died in Jamaica pursuing a planTo fight for the rights of Caribbean Man.And Critchlow, for gains to the workers he fought,And when he was fired that counted for naught,Guyana his country, farsighted his scan,He called for the vote for Caribbean Man.More noble nude freeman than full gilded slaveHe lived by that precept, and Donovan gaveExample that we too with dignity canThough trampled, be proud of Caribbean Man.In Donovan’s tracks then came Ted MarryshowHis dream was that we had just one way to goOne country, Westindies, division he’d banOne nation, one people, Caribbean Man.These are but few of the great ones of yoreWho faced the rough storm in the time gone beforeWhen it was easy to drift with all in the vanWith never a thought of Caribbean Man.When all were so willing to swim with the tideBe accepted, and join in the social rideKowtow to the massa, and pray that he canForget that you are a Caribbean Man.Be called in to dinner or Government teaGet an honour, a knighthood or CBEThink Limies superior and much betterBlack, brown or whatever, Caribbean Man.Not so these great ones, much more noble their gameUnselfish, farsighted the stars were their aimSociety’s glitter was not in their planThey knew the true worth of Caribbean Man.They knew that the Masters did’nt dare educateThe objects they ruled in colonial stateThe learning they gave us was ‘Dan in the van’The basics, no more for Caribbean Man.And history for us never touched on our shoresBut focussed on Europe, kings, treaties and warsWhat mattered, developed, continued, beganIn no way included Caribbean Man.They taught us of Raleigh and Hawkings and DrakeTheir exploits and how brave a fight they did makeWe saw this with pride, as true British eyes canBut not with the eyes of Caribbean Man.We knew naught of Fedon, Toussaint or QuackoNor Christophe, Quamina or loose-mouthed CudjoeWe knew not of Cuffie away down in GuyanAnd what he had done for Caribbean Man.But now we are free, and it’s slavery no moreOur fate is our own. We’ve the key to the doorThat leads to our future, let’s find if we canWhat stuff that he’s made of, Caribbean Man.When we were colonials in long days gone by,To make like massa was what we did try,To be like the British, our aim and our planA synthetic Limey, Caribbean Man.That’s over but, sadly, we’ve not yet begunTo see our own place, recognize our own sun,In place of the Limey, we’re now African,Not yet do we know we’re Caribbean Man.How dare we forget and consign to the breezeOur brother the Indian, our sister ChineseAnd others who cover the whole ethic spanFor they too, my friend, are Caribbean Man.We’re all of this region, no matter the skin,Black, white, pink or yellow, we’d better beginTo know we’re a nation and one common planIs what must develop Caribbean Man.Let’s turn eyes inwards and scales from them shed,See us as a people, and not that we’re wedAnd fixed to some Mother, whom never canWe grow and develop Caribbean Man.Not England nor China nor India nor SpainNot Africa, Scotland nor France nor BahrainCan now be our Mother, that can’t be our plan.We’re nobody’s child, we’re Caribbean Man.We have our own customs, traditions, folk lore,Like Carnival, John Canoe, Big Drum and moreAnansi and Tigue, Lajabless and steel panA heritage rich of Caribbean Man.And pepper-pot, oil-down, ackra and bush teaWith foo-foo and jug-jug, bul-jhol and bodiAnd ginger beer, sorrel, all foods that we canBe proud are produced by Caribbean ManWalcott, Louise Bennet, Rhone, Peters and Hill,McBernie, Keens-Douglas and many more still,In drama and poetry, dance, none better thanThese greats, they’re the soul of Caribbean Man.Our foods and our culture are not second placeThe’re unique and reflect our multiple raceWe’re a nation, a wonderful blended clanWe’re special, we’re vibrant Caribbean Man.And why, in this climate, continue to tryTo ape the ex-masters with jacket and tie.That garb is for cold clime, can’t we find a planOf suitable dress for Caribbean Man ?That may seem a small thing but symbols must beThe pointers which prove to our children that weAre not orphan people who catch as they canAt standards to govern Caribbean Man.We must know and teach, we’re a people by right,We’re not bastard offspring in desperate plight,Pretending we’re British or African clanIgnoring the fact we’re Caribbean Man.Let’s shake off inertia, let’s find a new birth,Let’s lift our heads high, recognize our own worth,Our future awaits with unlimited spanAwake and move forward, Caribbean Man !!!
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