“Wickedest city on earth”, so was called the Port

Port Royal, on the Palisadoes a mere 15 miles from the center of Kingston, Jamaica

Jamaica, where back in the 17th century t’was home to the real pirates of the Caribbean—a haven

Haven to a den of buccaneers, privateers, slavers and prostitutes

Prostitutes who flavored brothels, taverns, and drinking halls

Halls of debauchery frequented by the biggest names from the age of piracy, including Calico

Calico Jack, when the black cat crossed his path knew it portended a disaster which later unfolded that fateful day in June

June 7, 1692 to be exact

Exact at 11:43 a.m. (so told by time frozen on a watch), that the earth would quake

Quake at a 7.5 magnitude

Magnitude-measured disaster so horrible, many said it was God’s

God’s hand of vengeance

Vengeance on a wicked city

City of folly, for it had been built on sand

Sand foundations that liquefied when the quake shook

Shook the earth so vehemently it sucked whole buildings, roads and people straight into the ground

Ground sucked down to the bottom of the sea

Sea that in turn churned up a tsunami

Tsunami that crashed over walls—33 acres of the city disappeared

Disappeared beneath the sea—taking 2,000 souls, and later another 3,000 perished from the population

Population of a city that had been cut in half, some say through retribution

Retribution? I do not know but 5,000 souls— transformed to letters

Letters that float off the pages of storybooks to form the tale true of the raucous pirate city of Port Royal

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After-word: Port Royal—often considered the Pompeii of the sea—was designated a UNESCO Heritage Site in 1999. Today, it’s a small coastal village and bears no resemblance to the city of sin it once had been. It is hoped that a revitalization of the ruins will inspire eco-tourism and an increase in the small city’s revenue — perhaps restoring it to the wealthy glory it once knew in the 17th-century.

Thank you for journeying along on this historical recount, told through loop poetry, of my paradise home—Jamaica.

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In creative solidarity, Dee