Barbara Jane Reyes
[from For the City that Nearly Broke Me]

13. Black Jesus

After Bob Marley

The indio who carved me   knew the drum and the heart are one.
He knew the song for hunting,   the waiting song, the calling song.
He knew the song for planting,   the song of earth's open hand.
He knew the song for walking,   the river water song.

Buffalo Soldier,   Carabao Brother,
Stolen from the Americas,   brought to the islands,
Sharpening machete,   crouching in the jungle,
Born into slavery,   son of revolution.

I will teach you the song   to break your iron shackles.
I will teach you the elders' war song,   the bolo knife in fist song.
I will teach you the song of flight,   the song of purging demons.
I will teach you the song for healing,   the song of lighting fires.

Buffalo Soldier,   Carabao Brother,
Zambo, Mulatto,   war cry in Tagalog,
Sharpening machete,   crouching in the jungle,
From the hands of the Indios,   to the heart of Katipunan.

Lantern Review: A Journal of Asian American Poetry
Issue 1 | June 2010 | p 65