Poetry 2

Weep

A nation bares her soul

Death and fear permeate the air

Shortened lives, unfulfilled dreams

Young men, old men, women and children too

When did we get here?

A nation torn apart

Sorrow and despair

Paralysis everywhere

Weep for your beloved Jamaica

Each day she slips further away

Many have become immune

Death is everywhere

Yesterday it was your neighbour

Today you might be next

Death is everywhere

We all live in fear

Can she be saved?

Is she worth it?

Perhaps its too late

Perhaps not!

Death and despair

Paralysis everywhere

Hope is there somewhere

Hope is everywhere

Death stalks the land

The land of our birth

Do you remember Jamaica of old?

Weep for your beloved Jamaica

Weep!

We all must unite to save this our beloved island

United for a cause

Poor, rich, black, white and the brownings too

Law-abiding citizens where are you?

She belongs to all of us

This is our heritage

Is this the legacy we will leave behind?

United for a cause

Fight we must

The labourers are few but the harvest is plenty

Dry away the tears

Weep no more!

- Wayne Campbell

The Gleaner

I enter the many houses on this island

By the sway of a magic hand

My words stand firm

Grounded

They vacate pages of grey

And take off like parachutes in the many minds

Of this time

Man

Woman

And child

They earnestly read

With glee

The streams in their brains light up like fireflies

As the words prance off the pages of grey

Every Sunday

They smile

Read while dine

I am everywhere at once

Because of The Gleaner

My dignified and loving paper

And for that I am truly grateful!

- Tamaya Tate

Intolerable neighbour

What is she doing?

Jenna, really what is she doing?

Is she really kissing that man in public?

Look how she rubs herself on him

What a frolic!

My God

She has no shame

No class!

She needs to be tamed

And what is that she's wearing?

Is that a skirt?

Oh, dear Lord

The pressure!

For the sake of civilisation

Get her a longer skirt

For that must be her daughter's

It could never be hers

Jenna, I cannot live beside this woman

What will my friends think when they see her?

When they see my neighbour?

She needs to live out there

In the gutter,

Where such behaviour is praised

And the people live in shame

Jenna, Jenna are you hearing me?

Jenna, Jenna don't stare at me so

- Shelliannamor Young

Coming back home

I'm coming back home today

Finally, I can feel the rays

Of sunshine on my face

Warmth permeates my veins

Where cold blood once flowed

I'm coming back home today

Already I can hear the silence

And peace I would feel

Sitting on my front step

Watching the waves lap the shore

Don't send me away again, Mama

Even though you said it was for the best

Cold nights and frigid beds

Were the bane of my stay there

Just to be able to pass that test

Let me stay here, Mama

Home, where all the faces and the places stay the same

And no one scorns or gets disgusted

As they look down

On my dark shade

When I was younger, I lived the life of an island queen

Refreshing jelly coconut

And the sweet sea breeze

There I lived the life of a slave

Struggling to reach the road I wanted to pave

And I did it, Mama

Me, your one daughter

I'm coming back home today

Never to look back at that place I once stayed

I'm coming back for good

And you don't have to worry

Your island queen returns

And she is in no hurry

- Shadae Beale

Lifeless love

No energy, no passion

No great satisfaction

No romance, no creativity

So little sensitivity

A gloomy relationship

Highly predictable

A heavy heart

A broken spirit

Loved but not in love

Makes a tremendous difference

- Charlene Harris

For Beres Hammond

Day to day I struggle with thoughts constantly crowding my mind

Yet, looking upon the wall this picture I see

Then, suddenly, my day feels complete

Listening to your music in awe and thinking

Oh, what power is in that voice

With melodies and words whispering into my drooping spirit

I found a new moment in time to live and dream on

Then I ponder how many hearts you have mended with your many songs of love, spirituality and humanity

You make the extraordinary look simple

You take me to another world in music

Something no other could mimic

You're in a class of your own

You're great, you're super

You're a work of art

So thank you for helping me find my own strength

Longevity, Beres Hammond

- Ann-Marie N. Garth

'Spida'

Fram me eye

Deh pon mi knee

Mi neva see dead spida!

Me see web

But me no see de rida

Me wonda under which bed im ah hida?

But as long as rain fall, God is still mi provida!

- Helen-Ann Wilkinson

A better Jamaica

These are some serious times

All around you see violence and crime

Many have died

No, we can't go on living this way

No, we can't hide ourselves in the fear of each day

Let's come together one and all

Let's come together big and small

We need a better Jamaica

Let's unite hand in hand

Let's come together young and old

And together we shall put crime on hold

- Peidra-Ann James