A transgender child
does not not exist
just because a white man
says that that is so
as two spirited
third genders
and others
(eight in the Talmud! that I didn’t know)
exist around the globe
as in the
hijra of India
fa’afafine of Samoa
burrnesha of Albania
quariwarmi of Peru
guevedoche of Dominican Republic
muxe of Oaxaca
sekrata of Madagascar
fakaleiti of Tonga
lhamana of Zuni
winkte of Lakota
bakla of Philippines
acault of Burma
xanith of Oman
and waria of Indonesia
just to name a few
gender is as binary
as is the world is flat
asserting so otherwise
is simply spewing scat
She sent back the last order, as well.
This time, she shook her head
like a dog in the rain,
like a posh-frock woman
having "a spell."
The brimming broth, she said,
had a bitterness that swelled
and stung between her cheeks,
and across her tongue.
It steamed with the scent
of turmeric and sweat,
a lipstick kiss in the basement
of the Red Grotto Used Bookstore,
of a Dominican girl, half her age,
in skin jeans and red sneakers,
pulling her by the hand
during Summer City Lit Festival
last year.
She claimed she craved the
steaming heat of our menu's
Andean soup,
but bones like razors waited
when she raised the brim
of the bowl to her lips.
Just like the wine she sent back,
she said that the broth bit her lip
with a vicious grin
when she closed her eyes,
opened wide,
leaned in,
and tried to love it
with the whole of her mouth.
Holidaying in the Dominican for a week
Will sure do wonders for my psyche
Appreciating what we have and a whole lot more
Aside from the absolutely gorgeous
All-inclusive resort we'll stay in
Living conditions there are sad to see
But in spite of it all, Dominicans have a lust for life
The smallest thing makes them smile
A great big wide sparkling smile!
Will I be impressed? You can bet your sweet bippy I'll be!
Uptight North Americans could learn a lot from them
About what's REALLY important in life
As long as we have loved ones who care
Everything else just amounts to a hill of beans!<>
They say there's a first time for everything
My first time ever feeling the unsettling effects of an earthquake
Albeit, it was ONLY 5.8 on the Richter Scale
It happened during our holiday in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
We were roughly 60 km from the epicentre
But still found it a little unsettling to say the least
The locals didn't even break a sweat
They experience on average 150 of them a year
However there was definitely some rocking 'n rolling going on
At first I thought it was one of those people movers going by
Transporting folks around the resort
Then realized... YIKES!
That was a FREAKING EARTHQUAKE!!!
All's well that ends well
And I'm still alive to tell my tale!
Great place to vacation but you wouldn't wanna live there!
After the Dominican with it's heat and humidity
This is absolute heaven on earth
Temps in the low seventies with bright sunny skies
AND NO HUMIDITY
Humidity's a killer as you all well know
You can be sitting absolute still
Not exerting yourself even the tiniest wee bit
Still the sweat could be running down your face
On men, it's manly
On women, it's a great big no-no
For exhibiting such unladylike tendencies
Women don't sweat... they perspire
Bull crap! They sweat just like us guys
A LEGEND BETTER THAN HAKIMI
Back in '94 partying, Gabriel met Christina,
frolicking and they really got personal.
They married though she's 30 years younger
and were happily married for 20 years
despite the fact they weren't peers.
However, Christina eventually decided
that she wanted them divided.
But when she went to her lawyer,
she was shell-shocked at what he told her.
He told her she was already divorced
twenty years ago, the idea was enforced.
And this is because 4 months after their union,
they went to Dominican Republic for a vacation,
Gabriel divorced her there as that's the only country
where one party can file for a divorce in a hurry
with the other party oblivious despite the dowry.
Gab said he did this because he knew one day
she would divorce him without him having a say
and she will try to possess all his money,
hence he came prepared donning his wise armoury.
Vick Manuel Poetry {VMP}
Form: Narrative/Rhyme/Realism
Copyright ©? April 2023.
Sue and I had lost contact when we left school and the Dominican Convent,
Met up ten years later, admitted both of us foolish, each nodded consent,
Had coffee, agreed to meet often, lived in Cape Town, merely a suburb apart,
Both happy with our villas, loved our homes, the Cape so stylish and smart.
She invited me to her home for a braai with her family this coming Sunday,
The door was open, I went in, is that you Jenn, I’ve got to look good today,
Mother-in-law coming, do come up, but what took you so long coming upstairs,
I met an old man, we chatted a while, what a sweetie, said his name was Zairs
Who, she asked me in disbelief, Zairs, impossible, loved to play musical chairs, He told me, is it your dad, Sue,you look alike, spoke of you and how he cares,
But you’ve gone pale as if you’ve seen a ghost, why are you so terribly upset,
Jenn, dad died years ago, seems he got lost, confused, but glad you two met.
Contest entry:One in Five 2 Poetry Contest
A Ghost story
Sponsor: Joseph May
Dated; 26th July 2022
At Playa Rincon, in Dominican Republic’s sparkling cerulean waters
Among polished white pebbles, blue calcite and moonstone magic
sits larimar, the mermaid stone, the queen of the ocean stones.
Tailsman of adventurers and explorers, larimar empowers you
Enabling you to speak to your waiting, listening heart.
This is how she became and retains the title of queen
It was darkness in the middle of the night
Darkness with a small night light
Was I dreaming of the twilight
All I remember — I was falling then hit the floor
And then there was blood, red, red all about
I became alert something had happened I had no doubts
I woke my husband trying to be polite
I need help to get up I know its the middle of the night
Red red red I must have looked a fright
He never wakes up but he quickly turned on the light
And there we were in Emergency at Dominican
Thus a once quiet night began
With staples and stitches and instruction to go
What happened and why I still do not know
Meds or a dream perhaps, a wish to fly
The desire to be in the midst of starlight in the sky
Hopefully I’ll be awake and standing if I give the stars another try
If I Sat Down,
Tears Streaming Down My Half Dominican Half Puterican Face,
Droplets Of Water Coming From My Brown Eyes
Would You Laugh At Me?
If I shaped the stars and the sun,
With a #2 pencil full of led,
Would you laugh at me?
If I looked through a lens Of hope,
To see the bright, ripe moon
Glowing from a distance
Would you laugh at me?
If I try to mimic characters
From an amine,
With a smile of warm joy,
Would you laugh at me?
If I act like myself,
To be your fragile friend
You hold close.
Would you laugh at me?
If I work hard to
Complete Projects
Or videos to make you smile
Would you laugh at me?
If I had bruised myself
Without knowing
Would you laugh at me?
If I embraced
my half Dominican- half Puterican side of my life
Would you laugh at me?
If I fall...
Through the swollen pit of life vs death
Would you laugh at me?
If I Replay my favorite songs,
Humming the lyrics
Would you laugh at me?
If I stay...
Or If I go...
Would you laugh at me?
Or have the courage to say… Hello.
Art teacher, fourth grade, was Sister Yvonne-
Dominican Nun I could rely on.
She fostered my talent with special care
that gifted my life with artistic flair.
December 17, 2020
Premiere Contest: Clerihew
Sponsor: Regina McIntosh
OCTAVE:
LORD, this morning, thank you. This SONnet will please, tease, release:
I greet thee, having access to Your throne by Jesus
And His sacrifice on Calvary: We pray against the Virus
With a sunshiny name, an aura of a name, "a garland" ...
Corona Virus, COVID-19, or SARS-Cov-2, Thy Hand
Is mighty and righteous, always Righteous, even in judgment
God of Grace and Love, forgiveness and Provisioning
Forgive me my greed, envy, jealousy, smallness and scheming
SESTET:
I intercede for others now, nations and peoples, as did Moses & Joshua
Denmark, guide, teach, help Denmark ... leaders there, who are fair;
Dominican Republic, LORD teach & help this land, Hiati's neighbor
Bless little Djbouti, all states with names starting with the letter "D"
In heart of Africa, still bleeding since Leopold II raped her, DRC: Congo
We forgive others as we're forgiven, CORONA time when unity begins
That spring- I remember it well.
At age ten, I was facing big changes:
moving to a new city, larger house,
strange neighborhood, no friends;
even more stressful, another school,
new teachers, a new beginning.
But, those teachers were so kind,
so angelic, in their long white habits
and black veils as Dominican Nuns.
Before long, my school was a haven-
a place that helped shape my youth
and foster my inborn creativity.
Creativity needs to thrive and grow
in a safe, loving environment;
one fed well with acceptance, and
stoked with motivational guidance.
Those special teachers helped to
nurture my poetic and artistic skills
all through my budding years of spring-
skills that still grow and shape me-
even today- in the winter of my life.
December 5, 2018
~HM~
Contest: A Freed Verse
Sponsor: Brian Strand
Judged: 12/30/2022
~9th Place~
Contest: My Youth
Sponsor: Craig Cornish
Judged: 12/18/2018
One island;
one people, two nations
Dominican Republic
Haiti
An island split in two
by European colonialism,
a most vile economic mechanism
One part of the island
was controlled by France
The other part of the island
was controlled by Spain
The saddest part of this deal,
is that those two separate people are the same
Split in two
by a nationalistic name
Some be Haitians,
some be Dominican Republicans
One island;
one people split in two
Posterity's children will ask:
which one are you?
Lying on a sandy shore,
I look up to find cotton candy clouds
gently kissing the azure sky.
Wait, it is not the heavens I see above,
but the Larimar ring on my finger,
ever gracious to share the outdoors.
Transport me now on a rainy day
and let me see the beauty once more,
created by waterfalls in the Dominican Republican
A gem like Larimar is so rare,
found only in one country,
named after the finder's daughter
and the glorious colors of the sea and sky.
My ring size is 6. Larimar is my favorite gem. I have a pendant so it would be nice to have a ring to go with it.
.
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