Poems by Rufino Colón

SLAVERY, THEN AND NOW

The slaves of yesterday dreamed of freedom.

The slaves of today dream of freedom.

The slaves of yesterday dreamed of a better life for their family. They dreamed of the day when their children wouldn’t have to pick cotton or do other backbreaking work.

The slaves of today dream of a better life for their family. They dream of the day when their children can get a good education and not have to steal or sell drugs to survive.

Rufino Colón

THE ANIMAL IN ME

Sometimes I am a falcon and soar high up in the sky and am one with God.

Sometimes I am a snake and want to be left alone and if you don’t, I’ll bite you.

Rufino Colón

GOD!

God! is pure love. God! is a mother looking at her child’s face for the first time. God! is the junkie or crack-head on the corner. God! is all that is good in mankind. God! is the master over all evil. God! is the one who guided the surgeon’s hands.

Rufino Colón

DON PEDRO ALBIZU CAMPOS

Don Albizu is to most Puerto Ricans like Martin Luther King, Jr. To me, he was more like Malcolm X. The reason I say Malcolm is that he said things like, “Where tyranny is law, revolution is order.” Like King, Malcolm, Che, Gandhi, Moses and Jesus, he gave his life for what he believed in.

Rufino Colón

CHRISTMAS

Christmas can be a time of happiness or a time of sadness.

A time of happiness if you’ve been blessed with family, friends, and health.

A time of sadness for those who lost a loved one on 9/11 or the families of the Mount Hood mountain climbers.

Rufino Colón

TO BE STRONG

To be humble when others are being disagreeable. To be kind when others are being mean. To be pure when others are being corrupt. To be strong for the weak.

Rufino Colón

THE OLD MEETS THE YOUNG

The old teach the young and the young refresh the old.

The old teach the young to live. The young give the old a reason to live.

The old talk about the good old days. The young talk about how to make tomorrow better.

Rufino Colón

MY SOUL

My soul as a child was free and happy!

My soul in my teen years became distrustful and suspicious, and looked to drugs for its freedom and happiness.

My soul in my young adult years became hard and criminal.

My soul in my middle years stopped believing in God and became very vengeful.

My soul today believes in God, and is free and happy!

INVITED

God has invited me to the party

And I accepted—as a sinner, I was blessed by his grace to have been invited.

At the party, I will dance with humbleness, gratitude, and love.

Humble in his presence, grateful for the invite, love for myself.

Rufino Colón