Poems

Chant of hope for the New Year

They cannot halt creation with their slugs

Since, for every life they claim

More great souls, in bodies

Come.

The universe is wise and calm.

It sits patiently looking on

At all the vagaries of man

Which, in due course

Rouse the storm.

Only fools feel smug and cosy

When they deceive and harm;

Unconscious that they are setting traps

To stage their own downfalls!

Surely, life is constant

With both celebration and despair.

We'll no doubt take our chosen paths

Until we are ushered to elsewhere.

But, for now, the chant of hope

For most of us is clear.

It's wishing peace and love to everyone

And a wonderful New Year!

Erica Brown Marriott

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Self-Preservation

I adore you with an adoration that knows no bounds

My heart has a mind of its own

My thoughts are consumed with your image

I hide from the affection that others so desperately seek

Your voice I can hear from a distant through a thousand sounds

Your smile soothes my spirit sending chills to my core

Fortunately, I despise the idea of being controlled

The feelings that linger are left untold

Emotions are for people afraid to hold their own

Never give in, never fold

I'll live by these words until am old

Janice Poorman

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Profile (In Memory of the Excellent Journalist, Ian Boyne)

Ian was indeed a veteran journalist, a great shining star.

He had so much passion and drive to take his country far.

His stellar career impacted his country, the region and even farther away.

He enabled people to have a brighter day.

He was fearless yet fair, regardless of party line,

He knew how to react with people, thus his calm demeanour and affable character

made everyone fine.

In newspaper, radio and television, he harboured no myopic vision,

when there were issues, he seemed to have found the answers, with his great intellect,

he knew how to unearth information,

Indeed he was a great asset to the nation.

There was an abundance of knowledge that he knew just how to use,

Oh great debater that no one could confuse.

There was a sense of determination to achieve when listening to people on his programme

who have beaten the odds to excel.

Learning about their achievement, motivates one to go out and do well.

I believe that he is at a place of rest

For he has passed not only the earthly but also the Heavenly Test.

Oh celebrity, man of accolades, Christian pastor, superb communicator, distinguished journalist,

man with an excellent profile,

Jamaicans of all walks of life celebrate your style,

So although it's one of the coldest winters when tears would have been frozen,

it cannot stay,

For the warm sunshine of your life has melted it away.

Nalda Taylor-Wright