“L’expérience de Miss France m’a servi, mais dire que j’ai réussi grâce á mon élection de Miss France c’est non.” – Veronique de la Cruz
Mon Guadalupe,
I left you with my patriotic
sash around my waist, tight
and thick as satin fabric,
that turns with every hip to thigh
extension. I walk the runway,
out in open air.
The people wave flags:
green, orange and reds.
And like it’s carnival time,
steel drums bang their beats,
guitars straighten their strings,
I’m dancing
under this heat, like a mosquito
trying to sting human skin.
I taste the blood of success.
France,
I’m you today, able to suck
the blood out of living creatures.
I am a conqueror,
parading on stage,
smiling with grace and thankfulness,
colonizing one country after another
like Napoleon,
but taller with bronze skin.
I have the world’s golden crown
[1] Veronique De La Cruz was the first black woman to win the Miss France title and go on to the Miss Universe contest in 1993.
