Is this your neighbour?
Published:Sunday | November 14, 2010 | 12:00 AM
In the stillness of my dark, sordid box
I slumped on a shabby and soggy mattress
Praying that my crying ceiling would cease
Deceased from beating upon my thick and curly hair
Care I was rejected
Neglected, I lay bare in the darkness
Cold,
Shivering,
I hugged myself numbingly
Thinking that I should be eating now
But I felt no hunger
Neither echoed grumbles from the hollow walls of my stomach
There was no food
I pinched my loose skin that was once full and firm
Meticulously, I caressed the sharp contours of my disfigured face
Each scar told a tragedy
Each wrinkle screamed my age
No child, no husband, no relative,
No one to comfort me
I lived in a densely populated area
Yet, I was surrounded by no one.
- Daneika Brackett
______________________
Sinful sorrow
Amidst the happiness, sorrow found her
Sadness has always proven a more faithful friend
So her soul yields to its beckon
Her smile fades, she now turns blue
All passions turn to apathy
Everything and everyone she once liked somehow changed clothes
To her, it's unconquerable
It's able to conceal her beauty
Sharp enough to clip her wings
Powerful enough to render her powerless
It tastes somewhat sweet though
sweet because of its familiarity
But who will choose to love this slave of sorrow?
Love covers a multitude of sins
So it must be, that only such a virtue can erase this sinful sorrow.
- Laurie Williams
__________________________
My reflection
Judge me not because of my thick hair and black skin
Not because I am dirty and I yearn to be clean
Look not upon my crooked nose or my parched lips
But search instead first, for the person who lies within me.
Judge me not because I am disabled and weak
Don't treat me with contempt, scorning, ridiculing me
Hear not my voice and turn away when I speak
But search instead first, for the person who lies within me.
Judge me not because of my humped back and my sagging breast
Nor reject me when I outstretch my meagre hands for something to eat
Harden not your heart to the anguish in my eyes or the tears when I cry
But search instead first, for the person who lies within me.
Judge me not because of my long, bent legs and my discoloured toes
Not because I am ugly and I crave to be beautiful as everyone knows
Look not upon my punitive frame and pity the sight of me
But fear me because I am my father's child.
- Nakeena Ellington
______________________
The bank line
Slightly bewildered
Two steps more
Feet apart
Walking
Money in hand
Lips chapped, no taste
Buzzer rings
Smile appears
Upward movement
Arrival.
- Janelle Mcqueen
___________________
Wanting
I want to scream, I want to shout
To understand what this is really all about
I want you to trust me again with things on your mind
More hours in the day, so we can spend more time
I want to figure out what you're going through
And you to realize how much I love you
I want all this waiting to come to an end
To hold that number one spot again
I want you to stop torturing us
Do what your heart knows is true
You've prolonged it long enough
What other sign will you need to make a move?
I want you actively back in my life
Back as my lover, best friend and eventually my wife.
- Miguel Gonzalez
___________________
The great land
I know a country
Small in size
But great with people
Of substance.
I know a nation
Small in land mass
But boasts a large pantheon
Of heroes.
I know that isle
In the Caribbean
With contagious music.
I know that land
Jamaica, Jamaica land.
- Ugochukwu Wilson Durueke
_____________________
The sun
Beautifully, the sun rises
Gives birth to the day
Brightens up the sky
With every beam and ray.
It gives light to the earth,
And awakens all its creatures
Giving the spotlight to the world
And all its heavenly features.
And as it moves,
Time is changed
The mood shifts
And the atmosphere is rearranged.
Once in a while
It plays hide-and-seek
As it shows itself
Then hides under its white sheet.
But eventually it goes away
And goes below the ground
But soon comes back
As the cycle goes around.
- Kareem Marshall