Poems

 

Questioning Myself

 

Give me a reason

Why I should continue

When all seems to be lost in the mind

Feelings of despair and a waste of time

Give me a reason I say

My mind is a place

Where I can achieve what I dream

"Greatness is in the making"

Is the phrase I see

Moving onwards, achieving success

No way am I going to settle for less

Trust me, I know the road

Is rough and long

But I cannot stay here for years to come

I will move on

Reaching for the skies

With the bright lights in my eyes

Work, work, work and more work

Don't think you can bypass that

Getting riches and fame will be setback

However what you lack

Is the common sense to believe that ...

You can achieve

All the things that you dream

Even if you start from the back

Shadae Brown

 

Mento

 

Nobody's business, Hold Him Joe,

Hill an Gully Rider, Old Lady Yuh Mash Mi Toe

Touch Mi Tomato, Rukumbine

That was what dem call Di Old Time Wine.

Before di Matrix, wi use to do Limbo

You evan hear bout mi, ah mi dem call Mento

Ah mix of West African an European Roots

Come mek mi share some rights an truths

I use to greet tourists wid ah smile an ah grin

Now mi hear seh Jolly Boys ah fly guh Berlin

Mi rhumba box! Mi nevah know so far it would ah reach

Mi use to guh from hotel to airport an bar to beach

Uptown, downtown, funerals an market

Movie theaters, festivals, yuh name it mi coulda cork it

Dem try mix mi up an call mi Calypso

Kitchener, Invader and Creator mek dem know ah no suh it guh

Si in Mento, less is more.

No kick drum, no bass, an no keyboards.

Just ah likkle maraca, wood blocks, harmonica or penny whistle

Mi sidung pon mi rhumba box an melt blues like sun pon popsickle.

Ah likkle banjo, acoustic guitar, sax mek out ah bamboo

Yuh nevah hear bout Sugar Belly an di folk an mento singer dem call Miss Lou.

Mi hear dem talk bout wheel an come again.

I was the birth of Jamaican recording history in the 1950s, 78 rpm

Count Lasher, Count Owen, Lord Flea an Lord Fly

Everard Williams, Just ah few to ponder.

Even Rita Marley who was known as Girl Wonder.

Mi a di daddy fi Ska, Rock Steady, Reggae, Dancehall and Roots

Dem cyaan gimmi nuh jackit, ah mi build di suit!

-K vibes

 

Silence

 

I sat by the sea throwing stones at the ocean floor

Looking up at the birds and wishing I could soar

The waves were loud and came on the shore

So I got up to take a walk and explore.

The waves crashed against the stones

I heard so much noise coming from the drones

Chaos and total confusion. A shadow in the sky looms

The lightning and thunder sent my mind in a gloom.

Then suddenly the rain sprung forth anew

The skies are bright and blue

Everything is calm and peacefulSilence is golden thus making me blissful.

Hortense Francis

 

 

Growing Up

 

We never knew growing up

Would be this difficult

Our parents did it

So in their shoes

We could fill

It's simple

There is nothing to lose

Until you get to the place

Where you'll have to chose

What to do?

Choices

There are a lot to be made

Decisions

How can we escape?

Life

Is filled with all kinds

of phase

Growing Up

You're expected to

act your age

But can we just stop

for a moment

Lets start over again

Take me back to that period

When I was only Just 10