Sweetness Of Home Poem by Major Elazia

In the expanse of the scene unfolding before my eyes,

In the expanse of the rusty roofs spread in an infinite distance

Through the cracking sounds and Harlem's explosions

We move with haste, placidly proclaiming our satisfaction in life,

Inside our ghetto houses, we speak animatedly of our childhood dreams



Outside, life puzzles and bustles but dazzles in the smoky haze,

Our women turn as roasting fish as they gossip tales unknown

Our men reminisce boyhood games in huddled groups

Our children, half-naked play on dusty paths and muddy waters

In the alleys, water flows impeccably, the dirt of humanity,

Carrying with it waste of centuries gone and centuries to come



Across the valley, beautiful buildings rise to touch the skies above

We silently peep at the sleek fuel guzzlers zoom along the highways

Dustbins fill with leftovers of yesterdays' endless parties

We hear their women talk of latest hairstyles and fashion,

Men enrich their talk with latest cars and bank accounts

Children choke under the endless supply of cake and candy.



Behind the stones walls and the curly electric fences-

Mean guards in torn uniforms suffering in a kind of slavery,

Comes the pearls of laughter directing spite and scorn to us in Shanty

But they are in the grand palace where freedom is forever lost!

Yet they continue to scorn forgotten mortals dwarfed under mud walls and rusty roofs,

Of hungry children playing with the frogs in the swampy greens

Of women darkened by the dark smoke from the smoking fish,

Of men who will not build a stone house!



Oh Shantytown, such dwellings of men with minds so creative!

The eighth wonder of the urban life, the sacred goods in the flying toilets

Don't frown, dear friend, the flying goods pooled together

Gather gas to give you the power; to cook and warm your muzzled castles

Shantytown, a place where hopes run immortal in the hearts of men!



Children run about unmanned, untamed, swimming in childhood freedom of unbridled joy,

The worries of the affluent, of children kidnapped, or gone missing…

Missing from the guarded playgrounds of cops and electric fences

Do not run amok to disturb the peaceful tranquility of Shantytown paradise

And simple ailments don't make slum dwellers camp in hospital beds

For they are hardened and gifted in the Spartan ways of life



Oh Shantytown, such dwellings of men with hearts so brave!

Suddenly, darkness slowly sets in the so called murky dens of the ‘outcasts'.

The smoke from the dying embers on the street fizzles out

The dancing shadows take a bow to follow their masters' sleep.

One by one the smoky lamps bid the night a romantic welcome



Behind the walls of the tall buildings,

In the marble castles and the majestic palaces

The mocking laughter continues…

Yet behind the mud and carton walls and rusty roofs,

Men and women timidly embrace as children snore under their matrimonial beds!

Hushed words over wine and sleep bring forth new inspirations

As the mud walls radiate endless warmth encumbering our joyful souls

The frogs and crickets in our swampy fields strike perfect harmonies of ballads

The drunkards totter home; speaking their minds loud in their intellectual philosophies