Exploration

Sometimes I am the New World Begging for exploration; Rich with spices Drunk with gold; Hoping to be colonized, Settled and civilized. I have a culture all my own, With my own language And my own customs. I don’t need your flag planted in my soil – Nor do I need to be claimed for another; I want no foreign gods Or Faiths taught to my children In other languages; I do not need pox riddled blankets Or my own wealth exported As the pretext of some sort of allegiance. I do not need to provide you with cheap labor, To make your TV sets or Nikes. I do not need to sell you cheap beef To satisfy your McValues - I am indigenous unto myself You must have the courage To find me and name me. Inside of me is the unknown and the unknowable: These great strengths and my greatest fears. M C Biegner 5/2005