Poetry

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Crying to cry

I would feel better

if I could cry

but I cannot.

The tears aren't coming

They just build up

nether the sockets of my eyes

never to brim over

Blocked by pride

Stopped by being from a culture

that dictates that 'big man' don't cry

So the 'eye-wata' just slithers

on down

to the stomach

and remains there undigested

My soul becomes infested ...

infected ....

as dormant emotional 'wata'

breeds creatures of the mind

Maybe a bit melodramatic

But do tears irrigate the roots of life?

I would feel better

if I would cry

But I will not.

- Austin G. Henry

Stronger

I've been through a lot, but I'm still standing tall

I've weathered the storms and come through it all

I keep on rising though they want me to fall

Hard times make me stronger, like the Apostle Paul.

Though trouble is all around, I still do not fear

The burdens are heavy, but I know I can bear

So I won't worry when my enemies jeer

Like Mary J. Blige, I'm stronger with each tear.

Sometimes I feel like I simply can't cope

I'm tempted to just sit around and mope

I'm at the end of my rope, but something looms on the horizon

and it's called hope.

This is what I would like the world to know

Wallowing in self-pity is not the way to go

Just keep on fighting though you're feeling low

And you'll gain inner-strength and begin to grow.

All I've been though has made me strong

Heartache and failure can't hold me for long

I'll come through it all and sing a joyful song.

- Allan Lynfester

Honourable

How can I call you Most Honourable,

When I sit and analyse the things you do?

If I say Honourable, I am insane!

Each day I look at you with disdain.

How can I use Honourable? And it's a fact,

You have no character, you have no tact.

Using the word Honourable with your name is a shame,

As all I can see is a country for which violence has brought its fame.

An Honourable trait is one you obtain.

You can't just give yourself that name.

- Megan Thompson-Francis

Prism

A game of saving lives

of getting the kaleidoscope to evenly

hold on to the surface of the prism.

A game of governing a multiplicity of colours

of constantly proving to one colour

that the axis also takes it around the world and back

to a more even surface

fingers working at the speed of light

knitting an intricate interplay of solutions

the impatience of those who spittle and bile

run like a busted water pipe

in the wail for injustice.

- Eaton Jackson

Marcus, the man

Marcus Mosiah Garvey

the name still rides a mystic wave

Mystic wave

that beats the drum of my soul

chin high

I march to its beat of pride

under my skin

no more I hide

through the universe

his name ripples with zeal

man of my race

resolve of steel

Garvey in flesh has long been gone

his infinite energy transcends all forms

this legend now travels

at the speed of thought

to break my chains

to death he fought

the colour of skin

was never a wall

truth bellowed his name

he answered the call.

- Lancelot Shaw