Rom Baro Poem by Robert Hensler

Kushti Bok!
The gypsy cried. Tapped
his hat and climbed inside
His truck.

Kushti Bok!
Romany talk: Good Luck!

Rom Baro no doubt: Campfire Chieftain,
hanged in a former time,
now in a no parking zone.

Ten thousandth generation from
a distant constellation.
King beyond time and name.

Dromengro: man of the road.
Dukkering Momma told
him that his Shatra
ate hotchiwitchy parboiled in clay
beside the green hedges
of Europe's thinnest roads.

Steers his truck, smiles the miles away
takes the distant turn.
Knows things best we never learn.

Tribal truths? The soul can not die.
Only when you know you're caught,
Can your freedom really fly.

Rom Baro has no need to share,
His highway dance through years and laws,
through our courts without a care,
taps his hat, then guffaws,

Kushti Bok! For you,
my Gadjo friend,
Good luck!




Here's the Romany Langauge Glossary for Rom Baro Poem:

Dromengro - A man on the road.

Dukkering - Palm reading, fortune telling.

Gadjo - Non-gypsy, everybody else. The enemy.

Hotchiwitchy - Hedgehog (Especially in Britain.)

Kushti Bok - Good luck.

Rom Baro - A gypsy leader, tribal elder.

Shatra - Romany word for tribe.