THIS POEM IS DEDICATED TO ALL MY CONCH FRIENDS.  BEFORE YOU READ THIS POEM, YOU MUST FIRST PUT YOUR FRAME OF MIND AS IF THE ISLAND OF KEY WEST IS A LIVING “ENTITY”, CAPABALE OF HAVING FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS, SIMILAR TO THE FEELINGS YOU MAY HAVE HAD AT SOME TIME IN YOUR LIFE WHEN YOU WAS GETTING READY TO TRADE OL! BETSY,   A CAR YOU HAVE HAD  FOR MANY YEARS,  AND HATE TO SEE IT GO,  OR SELLING YOUR OLD FAMILY HOMESTEAD AND ALMOST FEELING LIKE YOU ARE GIVING UP A FAMILY MEMBER.  MANY OF US EXPERINCED THIS TYPE OF EMOTION WHEN WE DECIDED TO LEAVE THE “ROCK”.  READ,  REFLECT,  AND COMPARE YOUR FEELINGS WITH MINE AS I WROTE THIS ESPECIALLY  FOR YOU. 

 

THE ISLAND THAT CRIED    

 

I’M JUST A LITTLE ISLAND,

AT THE END OF THE FLORIDA KEYS,

THE OCEAN WAVES LAP MY SEASHORE,

MY PALMS SWAY IN THE BREEZE;

 

LIKE A MILLION SPARKLING DIAMONDS

THE WAVES REFLECT THE SUN,

MY CRYSTAL CLEAR BLUE WATERS

CRY OUT, -----  COME,  LETS HAVE SOME FUN;

 

I MAYBE JUST AN ISLAND

BUT ISLANDS GET LONELY TOO,

I PRAYED FOR SOMEONE TO VISIT ME,

ANY ONE AT ALL WILL DO;

 

MY PRAYERS WERE SOON ANSWERED,

PEOPLE CAME AND STAYED A WHILE,

IF THEY REALLY LOOKED CLOSLEY,

THEY WOULD SEE AN ISLAND SMILE;

 

THESE PEOPLE SEEMED TO LIKE ME

I LIKED THEM AS WELL,

THEY ENJOYED THE THINGS I OFFERED THEM

AT LEAST AS FAR AS I COULD TELL;

 

THEY BUILT THESE CUTE LITTLE HOUSES,

UP AND DOWN MY NARROW STREETS,

THE WHITE PICKET FENCES ACROSS THE  FRONTS,

I THOUGHT WAS REALLY  NEAT;

 

I GAVE THESE CONCHS THE BEST I HAD,

OF COURSE THAT “BEST” WAS FROM “ABOVE”,

THE MEAR MENTION OF MY ISLAND NAME

BETWEEN CONCHS WAS JUST PURE LOVE;

 

 

MY PEOPLE REALLY LOVED ME,

THEIR LOVE GREW MORE AND MORE,

THEY DIDN’T WANT TO CHANGE A THING

THE CONCHS WANTED TO KEEP ME PURE;

 

THEY REALLY LIKED MY KEY LIMES,

THEY MADE SOMETHING CALLED KEY LIME PIE,

I’D HEAR ONE SAY TO THE OTHER,

FOR THIS,  I AM WILLING TO DIE;

 

AFTER A GOOD DAYS FISHING,

WITH A BOAT  LOAD FULL OF FISH,

THEY’D TELL THE PEOPLE ON THE SHORE,

IT DOESN’T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS;

 

SATURDAY NIGHT ON MY MAIN STREET,

WHERE ALL THE CONCHS WOULD MEET,

I COULD HEAR THEM LAUGHING AND SINGING,

SOMETIMES DANCING IN  THE STREET;

 

 

I COULD HEAR THEM BRAG ABOUT MY SUNSETS,

WHENEVER STRANGERS CAME TO TOWN,

DON’T FAIL TO BE AT MALLORY SQUARE,

WHEN THE SUN STARTS GOING DOWN;

 

HOWEVER, “STRANGE”  PEOPLE STARTED COMING’

THEY CAME FROM FAR AND NEAR,

TO LOSE THEIR SIMPLE ISLAND LIFE

WAS THE CONCHS GREATEST FEAR;

 

IT,   WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN

ALL GOOD THINGS SEEM TO END,

THE STRANGERS MOVING INTO TOWN

WOULD START A DOWNWARD TREND;

 

MY COCONUT TREES ARE WEEPING,

THE BIRDS Aren’t SINGING SONGS,

THE SKY IS DARK AND DREARY

THERE’S SOMETHING REALLY WRONG;

 

I CHECKED MY OLD CONCH HOUSES,

FOR SALE SIGNS IN THE YARDS,

IT WAS THEN I REALIZED MY DEMIZE,

MY ONLY THOUGHT WAS OH! MY GOD;

 

MY CONCHS ARE REALLY LEAVING,

THIS ISLAND THEY CALL HOME,

 TO LEAVE  FOR PARTS UNKNOWN TO ME

TO LEAVE ME ALL ALONE;                  

 

AS THE CONCHS THAT WERE LEAVING

WERE SAYING THEIR LAST GOODBY’S,

TO THE ONES LEFT BEHIND

IS WHEN I STARTED TO  REALLY CRY;

 

THE CONCHS THOUGHT IT WAS RAINING

BUT IT WAS ONLY  THIS ISLAND’S TEARS,

SO MANY  WONDERFUL MEMORIES,

SO MANY JOYFUL YEARS;

 

AS THE CONCHS LOADED THEIR CARS

AND CROSSED THE BRIDGE AT COW KEY,

THE TEARS ON THEIR CHEEKS

REFLECTED MEMORIES OF ME,

 

THE LOOK ON THEIR FACES

WAS PAINFUL TO SEE,

AS THEY TURNED AND LOOKED BACK,

FOR THEIR LAST GLIMPS OF ME;

 

THE FOLKLORE OF THE CONCHS

WILL GO ON AND ON,

MY ONLY HOPE AS “THEIR” ISLAND,

LIES ON THE NEW CONCHS BORN;

 

THROUGH ALL OF MY TEARS,

SOMETIMES I MANAGE A SMILE,

BECAUSE MY PEOPLE THAT LEFT,

COME BACK AND VISIT A WHILE;

 

SO THIS IS THE END OF MY STORY

NO LONGER CONCEALING MY PRIDE,

I’LL SIMPLY GO DOWN IN CONCH FOLKLORE,

AS KEY WEST,   THE ISLAND THAT CRIED.

 

 

                                                         “BUBBA”

                                                         JACKNE DRUDGE

 

WEAR IT AS A BADGE OF HONOR

WHEN A CONCH CALLS YOU “BUBBA” BY NAME,