That
drop of blood Columbus did not shed,
that
did not spill upon the island's mud –
ten
thousand ancestors have held that thread
across
the centuries as we have spread,
survivors
of that most infernal flood.
That
drop of blood Columbus did not shed,
which
mixed into the raza slavery
bred
(before
the pipelines, tourism, and HUD),
ten
thousand ancestors have held that thread
And
in my veins, it mixes with the red
of
those who plundered in the name of God.
That
drop of blood Columbus did not shed,
when
millions of Tainos died and bled –
if
I have one drop of that indio blood
ten
thousand ancestors have held that thread.
How
now to honor these most precious dead?
(What
prayer to say deep in an ancient wood?)
That
drop of blood Columbus did not shed –
ten
thousand ancestors have held that thread.