The background:  Even as a Jamaican, many times I find myself in awe of the accomplishments of my country and my people.  We seem to do almost everything to the extreme, we are either very good, or we are very bad.  Tons of room in the middle of the road for hardly anybody travels there!  Well not really; if we get literal, for sometimes it seems as if Jamaicans think we should be different and drive in the middle of the road, not on the right, or on the left; in de miggle!  Anyway, I was in a pensive mood when I wrote this piece about 18 months ago, and although so many bad things have happened in and around Paradise since then, we still have hope for a lot of good things have happened too.

Jam I Can In Paradise

To many people this isle is sweet, sweet Jamaica

And to just as many it is the infamous Jamrock

Still for others it is Paradise, and, "Jah mek yah!"

And wherever they go; they take their piece of the rock.

So clearly, this is the island of contradictions

Arguably, the murder capital of the world

The island that produced the world's two fastest humans

The isle with the most beautiful girls, truth be told.

The island of Trevor Rhone, Ms. Lou and Mas Ran

The land of sunshine and the most beautiful beaches

The isle, the song claims, with the wickedest slam

There are bauxite, limestone and many other riches.

The local news declares, "The land of less rights and more wrongs"

The Foreign Press, it swears, "The Island is homophobic"

The land with the wackiest and the slackest hit songs

The birth place of Mr. Lover-Lover, Mr. Boombastic!

The isle with the record for the most churches per square mile

The land where there are way too many road accidents

The island where regardless of their pain the people smile

The land where many can't rub together two red cents.

So it's a balanced affair, with either side one could agree

Both sides have some good points to support their arguments

Then I asked myself, what does Paradise mean, to me?

I guess you could say, I have to put in my two cents!

Like most places on our beautiful planet earth

Living in Paradise is far from Utopia

I'm extremely proud of the land of my birth

Imagine; it produced the champion, Asafa.

And although it is improbable you somehow didn't know

And that piece on information gave you a sudden jolt

Hold on to something tight my friend, and don't let go

Also from Paradise, there is the phenom Usain Bolt.

Our music, reggae and dancehall, is loved worldwide

Our Blue Mountains provide the world's best coffee

So you can imagine how I feel all torn up inside

When some outsiders keep saying, "dem fraid a wi".

And of course Jamaicans have a great reputation

When it comes to mastering various types of work

We have always been a very tolerant little nation

Still, we created the tasty but very spicy jerk.

Yes, real Jamaican food is rated very highly

And our local chefs are amongst the planet's best

The land of the great Marcus Garvey and Bob Marley

Proud, dedicated freedom fighters now laid to rest.

But we also have that awful virus called corruption

And of late we have started to harm our children

Trus' mi, Jah know we need fi clean up di tings dem, man

Love our kids; and the violators - run de whola dem!

We have so many problems it's hard to understand

It's as if we've always been tied down by a strong rope

But the eternal father has indeed blessed our land

And knowing that fact has given me undying hope.

I will always do what I can for my beloved island

And I will encourage everyone who is my friend

And although we may not possess a master plan

I believe it just needs a real spark to start a trend.

So please everybody listen very carefully

In other words, all a oonu try fi andastan'

This island Paradise means the world to me, you see

It is honestly the most beautiful little island.

So, while I might oftentimes curse in pure frustration

I will never surrender in this important fight

I really love this powerful tiny nation

And I believe someday we'll truly get it right.

Duhaney A. Smith

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