Poetry 2

Soul's journey

My Soul

Angered

This thing that God has given to me

Is it not my God-given right to be at peace?

My angered soul

Crucified every day by the one the man

The testosterone filled mortal who partly is the reason I exist

Am I being too harsh?

I constantly question myself

Then like a massive slap in the face I'm reminded that he is what he is

A selfish breathing corpse, numb to the pain he created and ensures everyone feels

My angered soul

Constantly getting advice from those who know squat about what I experienced

He stayed over the years?

To whose advantage? Not mine for he had everything to gain

Oh 'I know Piggy backer! His true definition

For him being there robbed my soul of having humane thoughts crisp and clean

My angered soul

Will be angered no more, for I, luckily had another person responsible for my every heartbeat

And if her soul is no longer angered, why should mine be?

- Yanique Taylor

Clothes

Males dressed in female attire?

Females dressed in male attire?

What has gone wrong?

Why are our males dressing like females?

Tight-fitting jeans

Shirts resembling blouses

Undergarments exposed

Like a badge of honour

Fashion, maybe?

Why are our females dressing like males?

Blouses resembling shirts

Boots parading as shoes

Fashion gone berserk

Oh, I long for the days to return

When males will once again dress like males and females no longer resembling males

- Wayne Campbell

A helpless sinner

I am a sinner

This I confess

Against the power of sin

I am helpless

I try to obey the religious commandments

But to no avail

My life is but a tragic tale

I have committed all the sins

The 'good book' warns me not to

I sin even when I don't want to

I don't mean to

But I cannot help it

If sin is a disease

Then I am certainly infected

Faith is a bank in which I have not invested

The righteous will brand me

An evil and foolish man

But they do not understand

I do not ask for sympathy

I merely want to tell

My side of the story

I lay awake at nights

The good in me I try to find

But I fear that when

The faithful depart for paradise

I shall be left behind

- Bancroft Boreland

The cocoon

Then, I was rude, crude and lewd

Profanity would my potential obtrude

I fight, I fight, oh yes I fight

My friends, my family, the perpetual night

My fears, my hurt no one could see

Oh, how I wished I wasn't me

Then

Like a caterpillar into a butterfly I grew

Spreading my wings and from my cocoon I flew

Shedding the rudeness and lewdness of my crew

My friends, they are now far between and few

I don't mind, because to myself I am being true

And now

With head held high and confidence I stride

Ambitious, determined and God by my side

My dreams, my future I hold in my hands

No one but me can derail my plans

No one but me can derail my plans

Now, some say I am shy while others say I am proud

Gone are the days when I was vulgar and loud

I stand in pride for what is restored

I am a lady and a lady to the core

- Maude Wright

Doubt

You bullied yourself into my house

You forced yourself into my life

You didn't stop until you came between me and my faith

You whispered 'I can't', even when I know I could

You told me that I would not make it even when I felt I would

I believed that one day I would succeed, but doubt said I couldn't

I wanted to get over doubt but doubt said I wouldn't

I know I am very strong but you still have me doubting

Doubting if I will ever get over you

But God cannot lie, He said

Whenever I stop depending on my efforts and depend on him

Then he will increase my strength, strength to overcome doubt

I am now fighting doubt with faith

With faith I can do anything

With faith in God anything is possible

As of now I doubt no more

Today because of God's gracious mercy

Doubt is no more

- Roshain R. Greensword

Music

Self expression

An escape

So many ways to describe how you feel

Music opens minds

Frees emotions

And lets us run free

But could lock us away

From our inner selves

Could stop progress

Could influence us into doing unforgivable sins

Change a person from an angel to demon

The one good thing about music

When it hits you, you feel no pain

- Vanina Morrison

Sexting

Sexually explicit text messages

Oversexed! Indecent!

Spreading like wildfire

Is there no escaping it?

A total stranger or someone of familiarity

Sexting!

Old and young alike, middle-aged too

Men, women and those transgendered

Everyone's fingers busy at work

Senators, congressmen, and the commoner too

Public spaces! Private sphere!

Sexting!

Unwanted messages

Unrequited proposal

I wish you were here with me

Is that what I think it is on your phone, child?

Horrified parents

Secretive teenagers

Sexting!

Obsession or is it admiration?

Humorous or repulsive?

Illegal in some jurisdiction

Is it a feature of modernity?

What is the solution? The answer lies within your fingers

Sexting!

- Wayne Campbell

You are here

You made it despite the odds

in the womb

you were fighting

you did not like the

noise around

how they were going to get rid of you

how yuh born out ah wedlock

conceived in iniquity

illegitimate, not entitled to an inheritance

but you won

avoiding all the poison

through tubes

in life, you now have to get away to another space

say excuse me, it is best

it nuh dead

but dem ah fight over dead lef

de dead nuh lef

but dem still ah

fight

so you can just imagine the 'contestation' when de dead lef and truly become duppy

so no matter what you do

they will not change

it is not the place of people to say thanks

no hard work and enterprise

will turn back the hands of time how the die is now cast

their die at any rate

you must live your own life

and change

what you must and alone can

change

you don't have to die

in this country

for them to start eating you alive

you don't need to worry about what they will leave for you

for you

have the greatest gift

life

- Helen-Ann Wilkinson

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