Dominica is a special place, with
nature all around
Where waterfalls are plentiful, so soothing
is their sound
Massive trees with buttress roots
tower up to the sky
Before spreading out their canopy to
shade us from on high
The forest that surrounds us is every
shade of green
With blossoms adding colour, this is
an artist’s dream
Zel-mouche on the forest floor,
heliconia leaves reach up
Sweet nectar from their splendid
flowers, the hummingbirds will sup
Parrots fly above us, they flit from
tree to tree
Whilst foraging for nuts and fruit,
squawking noisily
Agouties scour the forest floor,
rummaging for food
Whilst manicou sleep in the trees, at
night’s when they come good
Bromeliads and orchids decorate the
trees
Collecting moisture from the air, you can
feel the forest breathe
A stick insect you may observe, if
your eyes are keen
Or mullet swimming happily in a nearby
stream
Tree lizards are a common sight, they
call them Zandoli
When males stick out their orange bib,
that is a sight to see
Abolos are larger, the ground is their
domain
They like to chase each other, the
speed they move’s insane
Green and grey iguanas, look from a
bygone time
Prehistoric in appearance, on our
crops they like to dine
Whist geckos cream with rounded toes,
patrol our walls at night
Their dark eyes sharp, a moth they
spot, then quickly pounce and bite
Gliding through the undergrowth the
grass snake wends its way
Looking for a cricket or a bug on
which to prey
Boas are enormous and in many trigger
fear
But to us they are quite harmless,
that’s the reality
Herons stalk the rivers, seeking crabs
on which to dine.
Whilst titiwi the shallows climb,
thousands in a line
That cackling that fills the air, a kingfisher
is there
Or that distant note so haunting, from
the lonely solitaire
As the day begins to warm, the frigate
birds appear
Rising on the thermals, circling far
and near
Pelicans glide just offshore,
where abound young fish
Then suddenly they plunge and splash
to catch a tasty dish
Butterflies are all around, to watch
them is such fun
Their wings spread out like solar
cells, harvesting the sun
When perched upon a pretty flower,
feeding looks quite hard
To reach that tasty nectar, their
tongues curl out so far
Sunsets are a wondrous sight, there
are no two alike
Descending o’er the ocean, taking with
it our daylight
When the skyline has no clouds, we
look for the green flash
A golden yellow shrinking spot, turns
green, then quick, it’s past
The sky begins to darken, the birds
all go to roost
To be replaced by flying mice, which
also have a use
Those radar ears of bats detect the
sound of tiny wings
They hoover up mosquitoes, devour
those pesky things
With air so clear the evening sky
becomes a glorious sight
A million stars are there to see,
twinkling so bright
The constellations can be seen, bright
is Orion’s belt
A shooting star, that streak of light,
a meteorite doth melt
A spot of light is moving fast, it is
a satellite
And when the moon is overhead, it’s
almost like daylight
Flashing lights of green and red, a
plane is on its way
Bringing tourists from afar, to enjoy
a sunny stay
When sun and earth and moon align,
there is a shadow cast
The moon blocks out the sunshine,
light dims until its past
Or when the shadow of the earth is
cast upon the moon
In full, its colour changes, just like
a red balloon
The moon above the ocean sends a
thousand shards of light
Reflecting on a rippled sea, the waves
they dance so bright
Then there’s the nighttime chorus, cicadas
on the trees
The crickets chirp and when it rains,
the tweet of frogs sounds sweet
As the night time ebbs away, the
cooing doves begin
Distant roosters start to crow, the
birds all start to sing
The day begins, the sky is clear, the
air it feels so fresh,
It’s time for breakfast, local juice,
bananas, pawpaw flesh
Volcanos are our backbone; their peaks
reach up so high
So many in one tiny spot, earth’s
moving plates are why
Telltale signs are all around, hot
springs we so adore
Tiny bubbles like champagne, rise from
the ocean floor
Clouds of steam are swirling from the
churning boiling lake
Though getting there is quite a hike,
it’s an effort all should make
The scenery is splendid, up slopes,
ahead we forge
Once back we soak our tired limbs, in
the Titou Gorge
At Chaudier the water’s deep, you can
high dive from the side
Or enter from the stream above, on
nature’s water slide
A Malfin circles in the sky, scouting
from above
Its telescopic eyes seek out a lizard
or a dove
The long and winding roads traverse
our steep topography
And from above, that forest cloak
makes them so hard to see
At last we reach a mountain pass, we
stop our eyes to feast
The Caribbean Sea lies west, the
Atlantic to the east
And in between a landscape, of colour
bathed in sun
Our cameras click, we take our snack,
the tour has just begun
As we pass through farmland, the
workers can be seen
Tending crops of pineapple, bananas or
dasheen
Saturday is market day, with fruit and
veg piled high
Round vendor’s stalls the public
throng, their groceries to buy
Sundays is when friends meet up, on a
west coast beach
Or a picnic by the river, there’s
always one in easy reach
The fishermen bring in their catch,
into a conch they blow
That fish is ready to be sold, it lets
the locals know
We see a ferry moving fast, a white tail in its wake
To Guadeloupe or Martinique, its a trip we like to make
And in the ocean waters, whales and dolphin play
A giant turtle comes ashore, in the sand its eggs to lay
Snorkeling is also fun, the western
sea is calm
It’s like another world down there,
the water’s clear and warm
The western world we left behind,
strangers rarely say hello
Here it’s different, greetings flow,
almost everywhere you go
Your car might have a problem; you
stop to see what’s wrong
Those passing often offer help, its
fixed before too long
In abundance talent flows, in music
and the arts
When Michele sings it always lifts our
spirits and our hearts
Forest scenes are reproduced, on
canvas for our walls
In harmony a choir sings, rejuvenates
our souls
Carnival is always fun for young and
old alike
Steel pans ring out our favourite
songs, the music comes alive
The costumes are amazing, queen
contestants lead the way
We gaze up at stilt walkers, it’s a
colourful array
When Creole time arrives each year,
there’s lots to see and do
Fashion shows, Ms Wob Dwiyet, all in
madras costume
On Creole Day we all dress up, and go
to work that way
Then three nights of live music, go on
until next day
Jazz 'n Creole at Cabrits is a
summertime event
Outdoors in the afternoon, the music’s
heaven sent
Cannons line the ramparts, at this
historic fort
Where in the past the French and
English, many battles fought
Sometimes our lives are threatened by
the actions of mankind
A hurricane approaches, safe shelter
we must find
When it hits the rivers roar, bridges
wash away
Roofs blow off and buildings flood,
it’s a course we have to stay
Once the weather eases, we assess the
aftermath
The damage that we must repair, in the
wake of nature’s wrath
Restoring can be costly, we all must
toil and sweat
We try to help each other, whilst
descending into debt
A year has passed the roads are
patched, our power lines restored
The buildings we repaired are now much
stronger than before
Despite the climate turmoil that the
future holds in store
This paradise is still our home, we
couldn’t wish for more
But then the unexpected, a deadly
virus strikes
The outside world is falling sick,
we’ve never known the likes
Western leaders in a tizz, chasing
round like dizzy flies
Unprepared and ill equipped, the blame
game now applies
Here we had some common sense, our
ports were quickly closed
Strict testing on arrival, and
quarantine for most
Our neighbours acted likewise, but
soon became blasé
Allowing back the cruiseships, now
they’re in a bad way
As I write we flourish still, though
patience is the key
The vaccine roll-out’s going well, so
soon we should feel free
To throw away our facemasks and once
again shake hands
To get a hug from grandma and not
avoid our friends
Our leaders they have acted well, its
safety first we know
Our health is more important, than
tourists in Roseau
For all those wishing from outside, to
share our paradise
A spell in isolation first, they know
that is the price
The time has flown since we moved
here, two dozen years ago
The garden trees we planted, it’s been
fun to watch them grow
So as I write I can reflect, our lives
are surely blessed
Dominica has a special charm, in
nature we’re caressed
This planet that we live on, right now
is under threat
Beyond our shores eternal growth is
the trend we must forget
Our species has to change its ways for
our children to survive
The future’s plan we must construct
for our planet to revive
A billion years of nature’s way made
possible mankind
Diversity’s the key to life, a
solution we must find
To overcome the power, that greed and
wealth now wield
Requires a total reset, some comforts
we must yield
A distant Empire’s in decline,
crumbling at the core
Balance needs to be returned, between
the rich and poor
A construct of financial might, relies
on distant wars
This can only be undone, with
democracy restored
We watch this pantomime play out, as
the years roll by
From our semi isolation, upon the
nature isle
We live our life in harmony, that’s
why I pen this rhyme
Dominica, Eden’s best, is paradise
sublime

August 25 update
Since writing this the cruise-ship blight again infests our
shores
Inviting deadly delta to march right through the door
Delta has evolved with stealth to sneak past all our checks
Remaining dormant long enough to bypass many tests
So vaccinated carriers, they travel unaware
That they transmit the virus, ships bring in from elsewhere
Whilst we are under curfew, locked down in our home
This cargo moves across the land, our sites they’re free to
roam
For eighteen months we kept it out, we thought we’d won the
fight
Now delta lurks among the crowd, hiding out of sight
It’s waiting in the shadows, for those without the jab
Delivered by a loved one, or the driver of a cab
No one here has fallen ill from getting vaccinated
But there’s an anti vax campaign, facts misrepresented
Maybe those arriving should be kept a little longer
And cruiseships are of prime concern, as they now pose a danger
A sad day just a week ago, covid’s first victim
A lady we all knew and liked, our future now looks grim
We need to act in unison to keep this thing at bay
Then Dominica might prevail, for that we hope and pray
January 10th 2022 update
The delta surge has left its mark,
forty seven down
Now twenty twenty two is here. this is
the final round
Omicron has taken charge it’s swept
the rest away
A variant less potent, has come to
save the day
Infections they are soaring, but
deaths are going down
Far less people getting sick, relief
is felt all round
We can’t avoid exposure, with vaccine
or without
But now the risk is minimized, this
virus has no clout
For this we have to thank the mice, where
Omicron evolved
Before returning it to us, pandemic
now resolved
A few more weeks of caution, whilst
Omicron makes hay
And then our lives will be returned,
our masks we’ll toss away.
The story of the first cruiseship
Coronavirus ourtbreak, January 2020

Number infected 712, Number of deaths 14
The full story of the ORIGIN of Covid 19.
A Sky News Australia documentary
posted 20th September 2021
 Note, this video was removed from YouTube
within 24 hours of it going live, but has since been re posted. Watch it whilst you can.
News update. 23 October 2021 - The USA's NIH has admitted that
it was actively funding "gain of function" biodefense research at the
Wuhan Institute. This was successfully achieved by attaching bat coronavirus spike protein to human ACE2 receptors to make them transmittable to humans, then testing on mice - RT News 6.48 - 11.26.
News update. 10 November 2021 - a whistleblower from a Pfizer subcontractor, Ventavia, cites 6 areas where protocols
were ignored during the brief 16 week Covid 19 vaccine trials.
Oversight of the USA's FDA either ignored these failings or was compromised. Pfizer has a questionable track record, which includes the unauthorized testing of an unapproved experimental antibiotic in 1996 on 200 Nigerian school children which resulted in more than 50 deaths and left many more severely disabled.
If
you found this poem to your liking, you might also enjoy another
that I wrote back in 2002, about a Dominican friend who's life was
prematurely cut short as a result of exposure to toxic agro chemicals - Au-revoir dear Coco
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