What kind of republic
Do we now celebrate
And regarding the new Constitution,
Is there a date?
We are now a republic
But only by name
And this to my way of thinking
Is a burning shame.
We do have a President
But is this all?
Four years since the naming;
Oh, what gall!
It sounds really good
On the international front
But the fact there is nothing more
Is a political stunt.
PM Mia has done better
Than the PMs before her
Who had promised the people
But did defer.
We are symbolically so
At least, if nothing more,
She has done more than they did;
With a foot in the door.
Now for the structure
So long in coming
That should have informed the republic
From the beginning.
Yes, “cart before the horse”:
Idiotic syndrome,
Surely, Mia Amor Mottley, that move
I could not condone.
Condemn is more apt
Given our current state,
For I am sure you did not intend for this
To be our current fate.
Almost four years
Still under the Monarchy
And operating under Westminster
Like their colony.
No structure of our own
With our own Constitution
But still jumping up and doing bad
In misled celebration.
But celebrating what?
I am constrained to ask,
Since the mere symbolic to me
Is like wearing a mask.
Neither fish nor fowl
And this is structurally,
Simply meandering like a lazy river
Pathetically.
A damper on Independence,
Oh, what a disgrace
Bearing in mind that the republic
Was to take its place!
Independence will stay
We were told recently
And it does appear this would be so
Indefinitely.
Westminster structure
Is all that there is
Because the promised Constitution
Is just a fizz.
Symbolic Vs Structure
Where ‘tis symbolic alone
Is no cause for such celebration;
The concrete has blown.
Structural change needed
Is the Ad I propose
Stipulating a different direction,
Not monarchal clothes.
Not a local massa
To replace the colonial one
But be able to say to that system
Be gone!
Building from the people
Allowing for greater say
And letting both young and old
Point the way.
An independent speaker
That is not an MP
And the leader of the Senate:
Similarly
Pay greater attention
To losing candidates,
Barbadians also voted for them
So do not berate.
Build out democracy
As genuinely as can be,
Leave no room for dictatorship
Or for tyranny.
Let God be more
Than a token or convenience
Like when we only call on His name
In need of assistance.
Let Him guide us
In the choices we make
So that we build structurally sound
For everyone’s sake.
A republic with a difference
Is what we should be,
Not just a republic symbolically
But a beacon of integrity.
Beaming its light
Across the Caribbean Sea
With a view to mutual integration
With other countries.
Let 'Sixty' find us
Much further along:
Not still a republic by name
But building strong.
Stewart Russell © November 27, 2025
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