Saturday, September 5, 2015

Brigitte Poirson writes


PLYMOUTH

(to the XXIst century immigrants)

On which paradise will they embark from this pier?
To which shores, rocks, and new frontier,
From which Southside slums - shabby, shaky shelters -
Are they going to sail, the new Pilgrim Fathers?

Through which narrow portico will they cross the threshold
Of the Eldorado they freakishly behold?
On which Mayflower vessel will they flee thraldom?
Through which forced labour will they earn freedom?

Of which new worlds are they pregnant in the West?
Which new conflicts will put them to the test?
Which settlement, charter and agreement,
Original democratic “Compact” will save the migrants?

Will they ever meet their drover to Dover?
Will they ever knock the old order over?
Will they found their Patuxet, the men that the world sidesteps?
Yet every life must reach its Mayflower steps!

On this pier hover figures lean and bland.
A new tide of events will sweep them to England.
The new world has reverted to the ancient Plymothian land.
The cycle is going full circle in the old Fatherland.


1 comment:

  1. Fleeing religious persecution, in 1620 the Pilgrims left England to colonize North America.
    In the second decade of the 21st century, a fierce civil war rages in Syria. Nearly half the country's population has been displaced; of these 6.5 million people, about 4 million have sought refuge elsewhere. In desperation, they have fled to neighboring countries. In overcrowded and poorly maintained "mayflowers" they have braved the seas in search of not just a new home but the basic necessities of life. As they have entered Europe, one of the richest and most self-righteously humanitarian areas on the planet, they have been ignored and reviled. While some European nations have generously agreed to take them in and provide their basic wants, many others have refused to do so.
    The United Kingdom has been among the most reluctant to act in the crisis, accepting only 216 -- 216! -- in the last year.
    Four hundred years ago the Pilgrims fled oppression from a hostile English government. Today a hostile British government refuses to do its humanitarian duty.

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