Antonio And The Bartender(Narrative Poetry) Poem by Cynthia Buhain-baello

He was an only son born out of wedlock
Of a Spanish baron and an Asian lass.
His white fair skin showed European looks
But his person was crude and without class.

War years of forty-one were his childhood,
The Japs occupied his land, our country.
His father taken for a G.I. was shot for good,
So his mother lost her riches, eventually.

His mother was a shrewd covetous woman,
Sly as a fox and venomous as a snake.
Had no qualms using people to get what she can-
Selfish and greedy, wanted all she could take.

She sent him to work as a well-paid seaman,
Off to a cargo ship of the rich Danish lines.
For dollars he earned as the ship's boiler man
His mom was so happy, everything seemed fine.

When the ship docked awhile at the Carribean
The crew checked the bars for a drink of beer.
The bartender was black, almost a jet-black man-
Soon he was the butt of jokes, an insult, a jeer.

Antonio, the Spanish-Asian illegitimate guy,
Enjoyed teasing the bartender out of spite.
He had drunk too much and later said good bye,
In bed he kept seeing the black man's face that night.

He had nightmares, lost sleep, and woke up tired.
His fellow seamen said he walked around at night.
No longer could he do the work for which he was hired
The captain sent him home fast on the next flight.

His mother saw her son and knew he acted odd.
His mind was like dust the wind has blown away,
He spoke of the black bartender, the encounter he had-
Is it voodoo, is it witchcraft? ......what can you say?

Antonio was my cousin and this is a true story,
We don't know if it was karma for his mother's deeds.
Perhaps what was sown was reaped, like cruelty.
If we sow goodness in life surely, to blessing it leads.




Copyright © Cynthia Buhain-Baello~~~01.07.20