My Journey from the U.S.A. to Cuba

I came from a country

where some people have more

than they could use in 100 lifetimes,

while others have no place to live.

They call this a democracy.

Most people go to work

and do what they are told.

Then we come home where

we are told what is politically correct.

They call this freedom.

The government has violated treaties

all over the world and murdered millions.

They even take the food

out of the mouths of babies.

They call this civilization.

I came to a country

where the people didn’t like all of this,

where they made a revolution

and their voice was heard around the world.

This country is Cuba.

This is a place where the people

don’t have to pay for education or health care.

This is a place where they won

the right to control their destiny.

Some people call this a dictatorship.

In Cuba the people don’t have much money.

What they have was won through struggle.

They understand that they need

to defend the gains that were made.

Some people call this a police state.

I met a woman who was raised in a modest household,

and became a college professor.

Without the revolution,

she would have lived a life of ignorance and poverty.

And some say that Cuba is unrealistic.

I came from a country where the people

are alienated from the government and the press.

I went to a country where the people celebrate life,

and have a deep appreciation of those who choose to struggle.

And there was an ache in my heart when I had to go.

Yes, I returned to the place that claims to be

democratic, free, and civilized.

I left the place where this lowly worker

found genuine human solidarity,

and a people who have shown the world how to be free.