A stray in Roseau

A stray in Roseau
By Delroy Nesta Williams

How do you walk through Roseau
And not smell the stench
Three, four “paros” taking a hit
Behind the broken down wooden fence
Crouched over without a concern
Withering away into obscurity
While young children look down from their porches
Point fingers, laugh and make jokes
But this “paro” man wanted a future
Just like the one you hope for
River Street, Cork Street and even Virgin Lane
The streets of the city are all stained
Roseau has gone to the dogs
And who is to be blamed?
With a hand out they ask for a dollar
Harassing you on every street corner
But the pungent smell is a turn off
So you hold your nose and show no love
What you do to the least of your brothers?
No one seems to bother
And we carry on our merry way
Unless we need a favour
Something we don’t want to pay for the full price for
So instead we hire the “paro” labour
But a cost deferred is still a price to pay, someday
So while you show no love
You walk the city streets going to the Cathedral
So routine that you see almost nothing
In your Sunday best and two-edged sword
It’s funny how you carry the good Book but ignore the words
Along your journey to cast empty prayers to the Lord above
The rhetoric of last Sunday becomes the gospel retold today
Ignoring that the “paro” problem is a situation
That you’ve created when you turn a blind eye
And instead cast judgment
But the “paro” was once just a passer by
Yes, that could just be you
In a few years after being knocked down
By a society that creates problems
And offers little or no solutions
And so Roseau rest afloat
On a cloud of issues
But the least of which we see
Is the “paro” roaming the city streets!