Poems

Dear Father

Dear father, thank you.

Thank you for always being there for me.

Thank you for being the best father that you could ever be.

Thank you for playing, praying and staying with me.

Thank you for protecting me and providing for me in every possible way.

Thank you for the love in everything that you say.

Dear father, I love you.

I love you despite all your flaws

And your strict parent and family laws.

I love you for all the sacrifices that you have made.

And I am not just talking about all the bills that you have paid.

I love you for all that you have done.

Even though you are not here today, you are still loved and appreciated.

I thank God for blessing me with a father like you and in my heart you are forever situated.

– Erika Heslop Martin

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My Name is Windrush

I arrived in Britain between 1948 and 1971 from the Caribbean territory

I have toiled here for decades to help rebuild your post-war country

Yet I was wrongly detained, denied legal representation

Threatened with deportation

My name is Windrush

You changed your immigration policy

To suit your conservative party

Amber Rudd you changed the rule to stop overstaying

You changed my status overnight despite me paying taxes and working

My name is Windrush

I was evicted from my home

Yet, you are in your “Home” office

I needed NHS medical treatment

Instead there was only bewilderment

My name is Windrush

Amber Rudd you treated me with disdain

You caused me so much discomfort and pain

Caribbean representatives had called for a meeting

But instead you decided it was not happening

My name is Windrush

I was treated unfairly

Rudd, you needed to take responsibility

For causing this debacle

That made my life a harrowing spectacle

My name is Windrush

I protested and I put up a real fight

For Theresa May to make a U-turn and get it right

I am glad that there is no “Amber” light

I have now gotten the Green light to my British right

My name is Windrush

I look forward to my compensation

I am from that generation

My name is Windrush

– Sharon Johnson