Poems

 

Emancipation

I recall Marley would say,

None but ourselves can free our minds,

But are we still enslaved,

To a green field of dollar sign?

We no longer cut the cane,

Or work within the house,

But when a commercial plays,

We cannot do without.

No one has a whip,

But we want a whip with wheels,

No chains to shackle with,

But chains of gold are the deal.

No brainwashing here,

We are no longer called the lesser race,

I guess drugs selling by the square,

Is not a brainwash case.

1800s long gone,

Yet we fail to see,

We have 1800 more to go,

To escape mental slavery.

-Fabrizio Darby

Movie land

Me glad dem no move movie land

what me who ah do widout cable remote in mi hand

far mi find de solution to de situation

just tun everything into fantasy television

In de movie My BGF (my Big Friendly Giant) mi see

how you can change bad circumstances to brilliant story

all yuh have to do is meck de queen get ah bad dream

and you life change, tun movie star pon de screen

Dem filmmakers know bout economies of scale

is really just one huge set dem impale

mainly two actors hold together the show

and the scenes with the Queen was just a head to toe

fe meck you laugh how Giant hold tea cup in tow

and orphan dress up in ah sailor bow

Helicopter dis tie up de bad child eating giants in one string

teck dem to a far away place in one string

If you is "Annie" all you have to do is sing

Rain will stop pour and you will wear diamond ring

Me gwine to package my books and notes

every single line and "loathes"

teck me canoe and mi boats

pack food to eat, cornmeal and oats

Steven Spielberg likes and me have to talk

how we going to give reality a new walk

transform every bad landscape

in beautiful motion picture tape

Helen-Ann Elizabeth Wilkinson

By the way

Talk to me

For when you talk

You bare your soul one word at a time

Your words are true and pure,

Never pretentious

Your words are small,

Never fussy,

Nor decorated with elaborate, artificial emptiness

Yet in their simplicity they managed to mould,

Managed to paint a picture worth looking at

This journey down unknown corridors of life simplified

By the way you talk.

Sing to me

For when you sing

You bare your soul one note at a time

Your voice of glass-breaking mixed keys

Not quite soprano or alto, Not quite tenor or bass

Yet your sound is in perfect harmony with life

With each note you play the music of love

You are singing your heart song

Your song is simple, Your motive is clear,

You always sing the songs I long to hear

This journey down unknown corridors of life simplified

By the way you sing.

Laugh with me

For when you laugh

You bare your soul one joke at a time

Every chuckle, ever grin irresistibly contagious

Never have I heard a laugh more hilarious

The sight of you completely out of control in a fit of laughter

Rolling on the floor, gasping for air

Buckling over or falling off a chair

Makes the best medicine for years upon years

Laugh that soul stirring, feet stomping laugh

This journey down unknown corridors of life simplified

By the way you laugh.

Karlene McFarlane

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