Homeward Bound

Homeward Bound Land of mango and avocado Sweet , mild and refreshing Cassava bread with tea, coffee and hot cocoa Fresh meaty young coconut It’s water crisp and refreshing Glazed peanut, cashew and coconut for a quick snack or dessert Spaghetti with herring or hot dog for breakfast Large tart grapefruit topped with sugar crystals and eaten with a metal spoon Killed a butterfly Folded it in half Pressed against its wings It fell apart Grandma chased me with a bowl of medicine A liquified leafy concussion To clean my insides out Stepped on a ball of thorn My foot slowed me down And the neighborhood kids caught me for grandma Was stung by a bee in the belly button Crossed rivers barefoot Watched black crab crawl across a small body of water And tiny fish swam in a little pond Skinny and gray were they My cousins and I rolled handkerchiefs into figures We got in trouble together, too A long walk on foot Left us late for school Once late , on our knees we were preyed Hot and sticky was our whip Lashed were our backs At bath time , mama saw my back red and black with strikes Left furious , Angry and out of breath ,she advised my teacher and school masters That I am but a child And not an animal in the wild Another time, I was struck by a bull on my way to school A big, black bull tied to a tree , loosened itself free and charged at me With its horns it grabbed my frail little frame in between mama and great uncle I was tossed I opened my eyes and was at the hospital My great uncle rode a motorcycle and dined with me and grandma He gave me a large slice of avocado to eat with my plantain and sauce The blacked out city Was lost in the dark On the countryside moon is streetlight On roof tops made of aluminum Boys flew kites Plastic bags and spare tree branches they combined Spun tops are made with lime and pick A bucket of rain to bathe A black hole in the ground For feces Clothes washed in the river Line dried outside the house Some bathe Some bring donkey to graze Its dung fall in between the waves Some to wash their tresses Like my godmother did to mine Marckincia Jean Narrative 07/13/19