Puerto Rican Alzheimer’s
by Manuel A. Luna-Murray
1
Bankruptcy soul and heartache disease:
two irreconcilable foes of my esteem.
Friends of darkness and disaster
killing my loved ones’
memories of life.
Old age without wisdom:
the tragedy of a life
neither lived nor remembered.
Death the stalker of our lives
upon the stage swiftly appears
to tear out our lines
Slowly stalking its prey
until its victim’s every feature has become gray
in the minds of the other protagonists
who have entered the play
at this late stage.
2
I never knew him that well.
The Man who had initiated
my father’s inception into
the Round Table.
His words still ring true to my ears
despite the speedy passage of the years
as he spoke of the old days
and the hard times
of a childhood lived in poverty.
He walked to school every day,
barefoot in the blazing heat
to learn facts and figures
that we now take for granted.
His Higher Education:
a pickax and a shovel
as he worked the fields
to provide for his family
through the famine years
And as progress overshadowed the lean years
my grandfather became the
light of his community
Repairing power cables
for the wealthy and disabled
my father’s father
birthed the revolution
of a nation cast
down by the oppression
of a foreign power.
His electric personality
preserving the power of
knowledge and tradition
In the places where ignorance
had made its home in the
hearts and minds of a generation.
Pepe Luna’s mighty pen
did away with the hypocrisy
of a youth that had lost all
regard for the rich culture
and the heritage of its past.
Embracing the new
while shedding the old
these men called
themselves “patriots”
“Let’s become a State,
learn English, forget
Spanish, and improve
our lives for the better,”
they would say.
But Pepe was wise
to their ways
as he sang
Aguinaldos of liberty
and praise for
Borinquén: la Isla del Encanto
Pepe was Borinquén
and Borinquén was Pepe.
And yet, his heart was too
noble for hate and his love
so strong that he offered
his son to the Yankee empire
in search of greater opportunities.
Pepe Luna embodied
the torch of freedom
through his son who fought
to preserve democracy
at all costs.
This democracy
was Pepe’s hope
for his people.
It represented
his life and steeple
amidst the
chaos of the world.
And yet, for all his accomplishments
passion and legacy
Pepe is no more.
Death has claimed the life
of an eminent leader
But not all is lost,
One thing does remain:
Memories and melodies
of a celebrated past.
Death’s sting is no more
as we recall the words
and deeds of a great father,
devoted husband, and
proud Puerto Rican.
But, how long will this last?
As this generation disappears,
Who will preserve our history
as Alzheimer’s slowly
seizes the minds
of our nation’s youth?
Let us then be diligent
in learning the lessons
of our past while preserving
the present
For if we don’t remember,
Who will?
And if you don’t remember,
Will anyone remember you?
In loving memory of Jose “Pepe” Luna (1916-2008)
For additional context and insights into this poem please read my accompanying essay titled Heritage: Streams of Consciouness… River Banks of Time. Furthermore, Dear Granny, Heritage, Embracing your Heritage, and Reflections are interrelated poems. The Spanish version of Puerto Rican Alzheimer’s is titled Alzheimer’s Puertorriqueño.
River Words… Ocean Possibilities 