Savage in me

Savage in me

I slap at the ubiquitous mosquitoes
And throw stones at dogs
I remember my ancestors’ greed
The elders sitting around the bon fire
Telling legends and myths
 
In the early times
Without christianity
From village to village
A cry of war echoes
It is the savage in me

Tattooing of men and young warriors
Taking wives after their first hunt
A young giant breaks a cave in his wake
A beautiful maiden cries a river
While a young foreign writer lies on a mountain
A cry of war echoes through the land
It is the savage in me

As foreigners came to claim what is rightfully mine
My jealous heart beats hard in my chest
The savage in me
Seeks an answer

I am immobile
Unchanged
When technology rolls around the corner
With its lustrous machines and attractive keys
What cries out in anguish
The savage in me

When christianity invades the islands
Transforming people
I sit on the beach at Lefaga
Lamenting about our old pagan ways

I realise I am impractical and stubborn
defy reality and time
I cry
The savage in me cries too.

Copyright ©2009 Juliet Enid Westerlund

I hope you enjoyed this excerpt from my first book. 
Do you feel like a savage at times?
There is a beast in everyone of us...it just needs some element to awaken it.  
 Feel free to leave a comment or critique on how this poet might have been better written.  I welcome all comments.