“Come, share that dream with me.”
In our beautiful island home
Change is every where to be seen:
Hotels, restaurants, dot the coast line,
Traffic once pedantic, is now hectic
As taxi drivers whisk visitors
To our pristine destinations,
Across this beautiful island.
In the midst of the hustle and bustle,
Incivility and its attendant ills
Are replacing civility and decency,
Which once were our distinctive qualities.
I dream of a time when our children
Will be safe in our homes,
Protected from neglect and abuse,
And free to laugh and play together
Without the spectre of fear.
I dream of a time when young people,
Endowed with creativity
Conscious of their God-given destiny,
Driven by an insatiable passion for freedom,
Will summon their collective energy
And transform the stagnant pools of thought
Into a reservoir of endless possibilities.
I dream of a time when adults
Throughout the length and breadth of this island,
Will disover that ideas, ideals and values,
Are the fruit of thought.
The choice is ours to think nobly and act bravely,
Or succumb to the mountain of negatives,
Which cheapen our collective will
As a resilient people.
I dream of a time when Leaders.
Though burdened with the public’s demands
With vision, passion and mission,
Nerves of steel, and an unquenchable passion,
Will lead our island home
To a better today and a brighter tomorrow.
For the year 2017, I dare to dream
Of peace in our homes, on our streets,
And in our varied relationships.
Come, share that dream with me.
Rev. Dr. Wycherley Gumbs
