poems

The beautiful game

The trophy takes centre stage

The players take the pitch and we hold our breath

The tackles begin and the magic of the skilful players leave us amazed

Goal after goal ignites the crowd

Goal after goal sends sorrow through the hearts of the defeated

The legends we humbly salute

The hopeful prospects lift their heads to show their respect

The officials' pockets itch to bring order as players begin to give in

Give in to the pressures of the high tempo of the game

Sweat drops run down our faces as we watch the clock with bated breath

Will our team be victorious?

Will the net be shaken by the ball so perfectly aimed by the striker as he takes aim?

People wonder why we get so emotional and often say it's all just a game

For 90 minutes, the world is placed behind us

Friendships we remember them no more

Our football teams are our heart and soul

The game is paused and we hold our chest

The penalty kick is up next

Our heartbeat increases as the player takes aim

The net completely shaken by the power of his execution

The score is settled

The game is over

This is love

The love of the beautiful game

- Saccheen Laing

'They'

She

did not understand

what

'they' had done to me

We don't just divorce spouses

it is done to relationships that don't work

that destroy too often what is essential to you.

you never stop loving

but you no longer live under the

same roof

nor stop by,

not even occasionally

now,

no!

not never

people who wreck a piano because 'they' are a whistle with no melody and cannot fathom why a piano should have so many keys.

She began to understand

when I made this analogy

that energy to rebuild must happen

so you can no longer be friends with

the 'demolishers'

or invite to your house for tea

not if you wish to keep intact

and sane

- Helen-Ann

Elizabeth Wilkinson

Forget You

I want to forget you completely

I am sick and tired of how you mistreat me

Callously and without thinking

I feel so defeated

Because I am no longer needed

I want to forget you and free my mind

But you are constantly there all the time

I want to forget you like you never existed

Yet you still haunt me unexpectedly

You keep resisting

I want to forget you and ease my pain

I refuse to continue accepting the blame

I don't regret you

I need to repress you

Better yet

I want to forget you

- Charmaine Wallace

If I Could Go Back In Time

If I could go back in time, I wouldn't take resounding paths like rhyme.

I would correct the mistake, and see people from afar, when they are fake.

People who treated me rash, in a flash, I would give them a tongue-lash.

All the times when in depression I stayed, I should have grabbed my Bible and prayed.

My thoughts would have long been elevated, if I had early sought to be educated.

For everything that happened, every crisis, I would have bounced back, having done an analysis.

If I could go back in time, I wouldn't take resounding paths like rhyme.

For all the persons who treated me mean, I would have washed my hands of them clean.

For all the hearts I spent time to chaste, I wouldn't have bothered, they were all just waste.

I would have armed myself with a glove, for all the cruel people I touched with love.

For all experiences in which I anticipated to gain, nothing came from them; they turned out to be vain.

For all the troubles that took me from the back; I would turn around and attack.

If I could go back in time, I wouldn't take resounding paths like rhyme.

Persons who cut my soul like a knife; I would banish them immediately from my life.

People who found their way into my heart, from their every presence I would immediately depart.

I would change some aspects of my personality; I wouldn't dare change my nationality.

I wouldn't have taken so many risks, and gone out into the deep; I would have closed my eyes as one who is asleep.

If I could go back in time, I wouldn't take resounding paths like rhyme; each regret I certainly wish I could forget.

- Shana Lynch

My Love For Ghana

From afar the stars seem white

But truly they are black.

A place of hope, destiny and where not

one good thing you would lack.

Heaven on earth, strangers dare not turn their back,

A haberdashery with everything you need.

A place where everything is in bloom,

A place with a fair temperature

that snow blessings upon us.

Here if the stars love us,

We don't care about the moon.

Lights shine upon this country

Like the Caribbean sun at noon.

My love for Ghana is compatible and

Unexplained

My love for Ghana cannot be tamed.

- Meisha-Kay

Success

True success is like the top of a ladder,

One has to climb it in order to move higher.

There are those at the bottom waiting to be inspired.

To move higher is their greatest desire.

There are the climbers, who have dreams and chase them,

And those who sit at the bottom waiting to be awaken.

One who wishes to move higher in their existence

Must consider hard work, determination and persistence.

For success when achieved is a sigh of relief,

For a mother who has been waiting for years to conceive.

- Sherine Robinson-Cepha