Mare Nostrum - a poem
Mare Nostrum - a poem
Mare Nostrum
Sunshine and riviera
Restaurants, sun beds and gelato
Topless and bikini
Sunscreen and waterproof mascara.
Mare Nostrum
Boats, small boats, big boats
Packed with people with brown skin
Who are they?
Immigrati its their label
Greedy creatures who want to steal wealth
Mare Nostrum
The Mediterranean diet, to live longer
Olive oil, pasta and fresh salad
To keep the heart pumping a glass of vintage red wine
Mare Nostrum
Giant hungry beast
That feeds on human flesh
What’s on the menu makes no difference
Young men, children pregnant women
The required ingredient:
Must be desperate, fleeing from chemical weapons
Political oppression civil war, and starvation
Mare Nostrum
Romans ancient monuments
Testimony of great civilization
Great history, great architectural
Every century is dated, preserved in museums
Expert archaeologist, dig dust, catalogue
Search for the glorious past
Mare Nostrum
News, what’s on the news hour
No news, its everyday news:
Today a boat with seven hundred migrants drown
Last week a boat with four hundred migrants drown
New Year’s Eve a boat with five hundred migrants drown
We do not have the exact figure
Approximately last year three thousand migrants drown
Mare Nostrum
Resorts, cosy guest houses and hotels
Bookings are required
Name, address and credit card number
King size beds are tucked with lavender scent bed linen
Dining rooms set with silver polished cutlery and champagne glasses
On coffee tables fresh cut flowers
Smile for guests to arrive
Mare Nostrum
Quiet hush keep quiet
People are dying
No names, no faces, no numbers no graves
No trace
They vanish they disappear
Mare Nostrum
Talk, politicians talk
Debate, debate debate
Help! European Union help
Election
Vote for me
I will keep you safe from barbaric invasion
Mare Nostrum
Blame unscrupulous traffickers
Let’s go after them
The human traffickers are responsible
Let’s have a naval blockade
Point our missiles toward them
Mare Nostrum
Got amnesia, no memory of yesterday
we exported civilization
The reality, we conquered, massacred, divided, grabbed resources
Today, we export democracy
We make money selling weaponry
We have drones, we experiment on the ground
Mare Nostrum
Silence only a vast blue sea
Silence broken by the noise of crushing waves
Silence, people keep silent
No words
To honour the dead