An award-winning author and a life-long human rights activist, DR. JAMES D. COCKCROFT (Ph.D., Stanford University) is a State University of New York Internet professor and Vice-president of the Benito Juárez Tribunal that heard charges of U.S. state terrorism against Cuba in April 2005 in Mexico City. Author of 35 books on Latin America, Mexico, human rights, development and technology, labor migration, multiculturalism, the Middle East, and public policy, he is also a poet, a three-time Fulbright Scholar, and an honorary editor of Latin American Perspectives. His recent books include: Latin America: History, Politics, and U.S. Policy; Mexico's Hope: An Encounter with Politics and History; Salvador Allende: Chile's Voice of Democracy; and Latino Visions: Contemporary Chicano, Puerto Rican, and Cuban American Artists. A Canadian immigrant, he is a member of the Coalition Venezuela Nous Sommes Avec Toi and of the International Coordinating Committee in Defense of Humanity. His bilingual blog is www.jamescockcroft.com.
Autumn Train Ride
(date of poem, Oct. 14, 2000)
Through the mottled train window
new life springs from old
as the autumn sun's casted rubies
explode the river's speckled leaves.
Let’s Dance! Jane Carolina Canning, Presente...
[Date of poem, August 7, 2000, in memoriam, Jane Caroline Canning]
Let’s dance, Jane Carolina Canning,
I’ve got Buena Vista Social Club,
Getz, Santana, Ferrer, Evora,
five awesome CDs,
presente ...
Let’s talk, Jane,
about the deep things,
of Doyle, of Derek, of Eric, of Susan,
of loves, present and past,
presente ...
The Adirondack chairs are on the porch, Jane,
facing north and Friends Lake,
the martinis and bug candle are ready,
presente ...
Let’s defend human rights, Jane,
against Shah-like tyrant puppets,
and Latin America’s Somoza-Pinocchios,
and the true monsters,
IMF, World Bank, WTO,
presente ...
Let’s open our homes, Jane,
to all the young and fleeing,
so that they may have a safe haven,
to gather their strength,
presente ...
Let’s work, Jane,
the life veins to be tapped,
the books to be written,
the dances to unfurl,
the loves to fulfill,
presente ...
Let’s be quiet now, Jane Carolina Canning,
our brains and souls
firing to each other
like mad meteors in a night sky,
presente ...
Peace, love, strength, courage,
Jane Carolina Canning,
presente ...
Let’s dance, Jane Carolina Canning,
I’ve got Buena Vista Social Club,
Getz, Santana, Ferrer, Evora,
five awesome CDs,
presente ...
“Liquid glazes our love”
Liquid glazes our love
lending it a gossamer sparkle
like sun rays on old satin.
I see in your eyes
the wet joy of defiance,
letting no death kill.
And I marvel
the mirror
you gift me.
©James D. Cockcroft