Poems

 

Until it fades away

 

Nothing lasts forever,

Nothing really stays for long,

Today, you may be be singing,

And tomorrow forgetting the lyrics to your favourite song.

Nothing is eternal,

The night eventually turns to day,

Make use of the life you live now,

Before it all fades away.

Make use of the things of this world

Though it may not be enough.

Stone will turn to sand,

And the smooth eventually gets rough,

Vanity lasts not forever,

And our bodies will turn to clay.

But for now, live on!

Live on before it all fades away.

Until it all fades away,

This world and the life we live,

Take a step forward, and, leave behind, the negative,

Take another step and carry a friend,

Before your footprints fade away,

Please continue to the end,

Before your chapter closes, before your life's pages cease,

Read between the lines,

Before your blazing trails freeze.

Until it fades away

Remember it is ok to cry,

OK to live, but, is it OK to die?

It is ok to laugh, and smile if you want,

Before it fades away,

Take a third step and don't say you can't.

I know life can be troubled,

Yes! And totally unfair,

But I know you don't want to die

Nor be left alone to stand there.

Do what you can, continue the journey if you must,

Because it will fade away,

And we will once again become dust.

- Fabian Gabay

 

Happy Mother's Day

Close your eyes and imagine a world without the love of a mother

When things are hard and we can't seem to find the answers

Just whisper the problems to mama and she would always provide the answers

Whenever we fell down she was the one to lift us high and tell us, "Hush, nuh mind, mi chile."

Learning was always a must, no matter if the cost of the books were sky high

"Work with what you have, my child, better will come in a little while."

When food was short, she never allowed our bellies to rumble

Out of the smallest of flour, she made big dumplings for the community to devour

Is there anything greater than a mother's love for a child?

Even the beatings we got, we can smile about now

The beatings taught us discipline and respect

We had to say "good day" or "good night" to whomever we met

Mother's arms were so comforting, they took all the burden away

Mother's smile was so reassuring that she was the best remedy for my pain

Mother's voice was so powerful that she took all my doubts away

Mother's dress was so dignified she made me know how much I was worth

Mother's messages were so heart-warming, I became an inspiration to others

Mother's prayers were so heart-provoking, I knew the Lord was always watching over me

Mother was so friendly, I never felt alone

Mother was so knowledgeable, millions of books could never provide the wealth of knowledge she bestowed

A mother's love is always with us, no matter how much wrong we have done

A mother's love is always understanding, no matter how unappreciative we have become

A mother's love stretches further than the love of her sons and close loved ones

A mother's love warms the heart of those who never had their very own mother to love and learn from

A mother leads the future with just the powerful words from her tongue

A mother made us the strong men and women we have now become

So with all of my heart, I say thanks to the mothers who have loved us all

I pray for those who bow their heads low because they gave no love to their child

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers who lift their heads high

This is my poem of appreciation to all the mothers far and wide.

- Saccheen Laing

 

The cost

Here it comes again,

Like a storm you can always see

School ... it's back, like a tax collector waiting for his money.

A youth like myself would normally be elated for school to reopen,

Over the summer, I would miss my teachers, friends, and lunchtime, too

But I stop looking forward to it because of the cost of school.

"It nuh cheap."

Mama always start bite her nail round August time.

Now, her nail dem nibble down

"Nibble to a stub."

School clothes

School fees

Lunch money and the books, too.

Yes

Mama purse usually pon diet round dem time here

Sigh

And I going first form now,

No more likkle baby books, I hear mama say is $2,500 for one book ...

Is three week lunch money dat, you nuh ... kmt

So, here it comes again

Is not only free paper going burn

Mama savings ah go too

If only we neva have to buy the books, I could have survived

But now, I going start working at Mr Chin's Wholesale

And when I have the money

I send myself to school.

- Tavari Hutchinson

 

Forget you

I want to forget you completely

I am sick and tired of how you mistreat me

Callously and without thinking

I feel so defeated

Because I am no longer needed

I want to forget you and free my mind

But you are constantly there all the time

I want to forget you like you never existed

Yet you still haunt me unexpectedly

You keep resisting

I want to forget you and ease my pain

I refuse to continue accepting the blame

I don't regret you

I need to repress you

Better yet

I want to forget you

- Charmaine Wallace

 

My paint set

If the sky is grey, what colour should I paint the day?

Some may shout, "Paint it grey! Paint it grey!"

I don't think so, though.

I don't have a grey paint in my set.

I have red or yellow, a bright pink or shocking purple.

Let me look some more ...

Sorry, I see a lush green, and a sky blue and a reddish orange.

Oho! I just found the canary yellow.

My paint set has only bright colours.

Who wants to paint with me?

Come, stand beside me and let us paint the world with bright colours.

It would look beautiful.

You would love it and I would love it, too.

- ImaiRose Nuako