The Poetry Marathon

We gathered around our elders, in a circle

It was story time

Anancy the Spider and Patou the Owl

Jamaican folklore, pit these two against each other
Anancy Mr. Bragadocious, had no humility
The Owl cannot see in the day

Both hosted a party
Patou the disc jockey
Anancy the look-out-man
His job to tell the Owl how close it was to daylight
Party in full swing and Patou had all the girls
Anancy plotted to embarrass Patou
Everytime Patou would check with Anancy , how late it was
He would say all is well

Patou played way into the morning and at daylight Anancy opened the door, sun streaming in shouting to all Patou’s admirers
“See the man you’ve been fawning over
Do you see how ugly he is?”
From that day the Owl has never been seen in the day.
The Owl does his best work at night.

Phone rings
Doctor’s office
Tests reveal lymphoma
Weeks pass with a myriad of tests
Tests reveal Tuberculosis

In anger, I said “get off my phone”

Consult with a respirologist and several Tests
Diagnosis, Sarcoidosis, what is that?
Never heard of it? Chronic and inflammatory
Better than one and two though
Monitoring and managing keeps me stable
Studying and paying attention controls stress

Gratefulness washes over me when I learn
I will survive
It’s not a death sentence

Music blaring while the crowd moves
Bodies gyrating men and women
As the rhythms of the music beats in the brain
This is the heart of the ghetto
Residents relieve their stress through dances

Reggae music’s universal appeal
Dance hall’s hard core beats speaks to the masses
It’s political, it’s social, it’s cultural, it’s raw
No longer music for the underprivileged
All sectors of society is moved by the
Pulsating, continuous, effervescent tunes of deejays
That makes women and men do crazy contortions with their bodies
Enjoyment obvious!!

Passing by the music beckons to our bodies
Sanity speaks, and we keep moving

Lazy Sundays
Chilling and cooking
Meeting and greeting friends
Playing games, we did fun stuff

Down by the lake
We hung out and drifted in and out sleep
There was a joker in our midst
Hardly could we contain ourselves
Running to the washroom at first chance

Jane tried to remain stoic
But her face crumbled into a hopeless mess
While her hands gestures, I give up!
Our lazy days are fun full of frolicking

We look forward to these day
Rarely do we miss a beat

Quietly they walked the trails

Excited but cautious

Rustling leaves startles them

Gets their attention

Leaves are moving and under it

Is a docile alligator

Those girls ran for their life

While the alligator lazily turned away

They needed not be afraid

It headed the other way

Turning they start to exit the trail

Here comes a rabbit on a mission

Coming after them

Aggressively it moves

Towards them, they scream

Heard by a dad with his son, he comes to their rescue and moves the rabbit away

With a thank you and a sigh of relief

They ran as fast as they could

To safety!!

Circumstances can change you for the better

Or upend your life

Either way

Flex and roll and

Be done with it

All seasons must end

No matter how long they seem

Life will be better

Light at the end of the tunnel

How cliché

I look, there’s no ray of sunlight

Nothing to direct my path

I keep trodding though

In hope to see this light

The journey is hard

But I keep going

The thought of light

Quickens my steps

And keeps me engaged

A glimpse of something afar

Grabs my attention

Each steps takes me closer

I brace myself

As the full ray of the sun embraces me

I found it!!

Light!

Treasures things cherished

Over and above all else

A mystery why

When some seem valueless

Look to people

Cherish character and

Love hard

Johnny cake mix, triggers a memory

Of the way we were

Yes, let’s make a meal

Dumplings conjure memories of

Childhood days, Back home

Fridays my favorite

No traditional meals

Fried dumplings and saltedcod

Every child back then, lived for this day

No rice, no vegetables

Momma made them from scratch

She would roll the dough, butter, salt and stuff

In the hot oil they’d go

Coming out crispy

Hot, soft inside

As teeth connect they sink into the soft buttery

Inside, as the oohs and aaahs

Signal, enjoyment of this deliciousness

Made some today in a Marathon frame of mind

Transported back to those days

Of pure joy!!

The sun raises it’s rays to light up the

world And all creation comes alive

responding to the glorious, nutritional,

renewing heat.

Things become alive they begin to shift

into place and out of place

As the yellow ray maker injects it’s brand of brightness

All of life from a man to a fairfly springs

into step to the call of nature’s motivator

Beings need the boldness of the sun

that beams it’s statement loudly and

1. splatters it’s so all can see the light

   Such beauty, such glory, it energizes the soul.