I
retired from education, sharing with (not scaring)
OUR YOUTH
oblivious of persistent prejudice, labor migrant past piercing
the present
until i left America for South Africa, returning to Natal nativity,
COMPLEX TRUTH
missionary in Eastern Cape province, an elder of Newtown blurted:
"coolie man"
Yes, siblings, labels like "Hotnot, Coolie, kaffir" are rife, despite
LEGISLATION
II
A missionary, absent from South Africa for 15 years straight, no
VISITS
My life, wife, and children lived on America's East Coast then:
PROVIDENTIAL
Now, with a new family in my native land, I am stunned I'm The
"COOLIE"
Yes, it hurts. My ancestors came as virtual slaves on British ships:
LABOR MIGRATION
They may have worked as porters, "coolies" in India and China then:
PAST SINS
Continue in Nelson Mandela's South Africa, against "Hotnot and Coolie,"
STILL
Who made these words commonplace in so many places:
TRINIDAD, Jamaica, Guyana, Africa?
TRANSPORTATION, A POETRY LESSON OF HISTORY
Transplanted, unwittingly, an invasive plant
Transported – the ship itself – to foreign port
Far, far away from welcome, the known –
So far and foreign, I’d never own a home
Volunteering because tears are jeweled nothings
Often teaching, as I did in my own land; not reaching
Those infatuated with fears, violence, violenteering –
When not teaching, I land at a Crisis Center
Reaching now the people without face and place
Helping by using my ears twice as much
As my mouth. “I am here. What made you call tonight?”
No,not long-lost love line: best practice to break the ice!
Yes, making a difference, myself homeless and shiftless
A transplant, neither black, white, nor female – categories liked and known
Those like me, BEIC victim, “To Company’s tea plantations in Bengal,”
Was the lie unveiled in South Africa, Guyana, Fiji.Freedom Lover
still?
I
heard
and pledged,
that one day
this natural wonder,
will be experienced by me.
Thunderous, Roaring from afar.
A narrow mountain stream meandering down the steep side, into a beautiful Falls!
O
no
I won’t
rest a bit,
for “Itanamee”
folk-lored and worshipped by ancestors,
I was told, angrily swallowed many Porknockers!
From the Potaro River below they cried: “Captain put me ashore”!
This
high
rock mountain,
Mount Rorima, that is it’s name
does rise majestically into the sky!
Shared among neighboring countries, this mountain top - Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela.
A
sight,
beauty!
beheld in
every beholder
who sets eyes upon this ancient god;
that replenishes plants and small creatures above;
Kaiture! Mightily and powerfully pours below!
Evil Prophet
There was a megalomaniacal man,
his ministry in Indiana began,
a man whose heart was not so pure
and lead a most tragic event to occur.
His narcissistic personality,
hid many dark demons no-one could see,
he preached his followers to repent,
conned them out of money with evil intent.
He promised a tropical paradise
in a new country, without thinking twice
no-body labeled this preacher a fraud
believing he was a prophet of God.
The U.S. congress decided they would
follow-up rumors as best as they could
hearing of armed guards, beatings galore
attempts to escape and so much more.
An official committee was put into place
to observe the compound just in case
but they were gunned down beside their plane
this cult leader was truly insane
Arsenic in Kool-Aid or needle by choice,
"self-inflict", commanded his voice,
some tried to escape to the jungle in dread
either way they would wind up dead.
Jonestown, November ‘78
900 dead bodies were found on that date
the largest mass suicide to occur
The Jim Jones Guyana massacre.
Contest: Evil is Everywhere
July 1, 2016
EVIL Exists; Utopia Does Not
You may remember them--
a wildly-diverse band of individuals--
a strange ensemble comprised of
various races, age brackets,
backgrounds, and philosophies.
By the mid-seventies the philosophies
had been replaced with one mindset, that
of a leader with irresistible power
who compared himself to Jesus Christ.
He banished societal norms some followers
had brought with them, replacing them
with his own. Many in this insulated
community didn't seem to realize they
were not in the utopia they'd been promised.
Now, close your eyes and try to see them--
hundreds of them--parents, their many
children, friends, and lovers--lying close together,
some with their arms around each other,
looking so peaceful after partaking of
Jim Jones's cyanide-laced fruit juice.
Guyana, South America, 1978, the Jonestown compound
909 dead--about one-third of them children
Jim Jones, one of the most notorious cult leaders of all times
written June 27, 2016, for Brian Davey's Evil Is Everywhere Contest
In San Francisco, he started his crusade
to teach the word of God and all good He made.
His followers, even though penurious,
gave him all they had; they were oblivious.
He taught them how to atone for sins and pray.
To a much better life, Jones would show the way.
To South America, they followed Jim down.
In the thick hot jungle, they built their Jonestown.
Soon, there was no love, peace, and no sanctity.
Instead, there was pain, deceit, and cruelty.
A California congressman arrived there
to alleviate the relatives’ despair.
However, his findings would not be revealed.
He and his party met their deaths on the field.
Jones tested his children’s loyalty later.
By drinking poison, they met their Creator
Ubiquitous death with not a single sound;
over nine hundred lifeless bodies were found!
He was once a shepherd purveying God’s grace,
leading most of his flock to death and disgrace.
small islands surround by the caribbean sea
from the greater and lesser antilles
Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, Guyana just to name a few
the place where tourist comes to see the caribbean view
music, beaches, sports our culture they come to see
from that hard labour they want to be free.
Demeter Edwards