Louis Philippe Romer

“Speak only one word and I shall be cured”

Let us make an oath while drinking water,
From the dark river flowing here;
See the pebbles move while streaming water,
Drags us down to sea.

Let us make that oath with ceremonial water
Lets become part of this assembly,
That works for the common interest;
Let us become a little link,
Of an eternal fate-less chain.

Let us become the consorts,
Of the ancient lizard there;
That lost all his paws,
Due to the sting of his own Sin.

Let us offer him our service,
We denied paradise for him, after all
He might let us back in.

Let us offer him our body,
For he may yet free us of our suffering,
If he swallows us whole.

Let us turn into zombies that forgot,
That they’re already Dead;
That keep grinning without end,
Because their mouths have decomposed.

Let us look for knowledge.
Let us mummify our minds;
So that our thoughts get lost,
In the Book of Oblivion.

Let us carry water in a basket;
Let us work for The System,
Corrupted by and for public interest.
Let us drink that ceremonial water,
So all the troubles are forgotten.

We almost became slaves
Were it not for the wisdom
Only the Lizard knows,
Which he then to us revealed.

He said:

We must not accept the Drug,
That stifles our minds and dreams;
After drinking that river water,
There will be no way back.

Let us look for watchdogs for our gardens;
To keep the snakes and goats at bay,
So they stop eating our plants and flowers,
And start running away.

Lets dispose of the goblet;
Do not drink the ceremonial water,
Let us use that cursed water,
To wash away sand from our eyes.

Look into the dark water.
We cannot see the bottom where,
The river drags the rocks,
To bring them to the sea.

Look into the dark water.
On the surface of the river,
We can just see a reflection,
And find out who we are.

Let us leave the pledge,
For those who lack the strength,
To fight for themselves.

Let us leave the ritual water;
For those who sit at the sidelines,
Contemplating its depths,
Without losing themselves in it.

Let us forget about these pledges,
Because we need no guarantees;
Let us never mind the rituals,
-Faith is all we need.

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Römer, Louis Philippe. P’e Flor Pèrdí: It’s Too Late Now. De Curaçaosche Courant, 2004.