Woman Down - They Killed Her - Coldhearted Murder

 

Hibiscus
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Woman Down

They killed her

Assassinated her

Bloody, vicious and coldhearted murder

Am dazed

Heart feels razed

Numb and heavy

As if it can't carry

that news, so weighty

Woman down, down, down!

I want to cry

Scream, no!

Rent my clothes and wail in sorrow

That fatal Sunday

Oh, what a dread day

I hated the sun for shining

After all that killing

Died in a hail of bullets

Is how they put it

Woman down, woman down!

I refused to watch the news

She paid her dues

How dare you murder her
What you ever done for her
Did you birth her
Comfort her
Protect her
None of that, no, no, no
Woman down for the count!

Nothing can excuse that
cowardly, dastardly act
Causing sorrow
Because you have to hit back
What you don't like you crush
Smash
With fist of hammer and spike
I got it that night
Woman down, woman down, woman down!

Despair deathly had me reeling
Listening to music loving
on the airwaves
Seeking comfort, no avail
Till finally tears flowed like hale
Twelve hours after the news
Bitter, burning my views
Woman down for the count!


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It took another 2 days

To understand the ways

Like, why am I feeling sundered

A stranger murdered

Assassination rather

Woman down, woman down!

I admired Dana

Often quoted her

Then it dawned

What that news spawned

It released truly

The reality of what you did, to me

You killed her

Rid yourself of her

As your heart bid

So much hate hid

Couldn't take it when pain rained

Brutality your claim to fame

Woman down, woman down!



Blame anybody, especially me

But it's always thee
My speech irks you
No other dares to face you
But I tell thee truly
Slap my face
Make me a disgrace
Shouting, screaming in my face
Intent on laying waste
Typical case
Woman down for the count!

You don't know my life
Want to manage all, even my strife
Control the only way with
low self-esteem every day
Love and violence go together you say
No way hosay
In prison or a hole you will stay
Woman down, woman down!

Violence against me will destroy you
As sure as day turns into night, for true
I will never submit
I do not give in
Despite fearful trembling
in the beginning
Who's that I wondered
I didn't know her
Then I discovered more
Woman down, woman down!

I had to understand
What has happened?

Weak, feeling loss of hope

No friends or family

So I mope

Alone, I turn to dope

Only ugly around me

So depressing really

My rage terrifying

Not calm, just pretending

Woman down, woman down!



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 I was out, really gone
Nasty dope in my mouth
Lots of fat came out
Still no comfort
No job at fifty-four
No home for her
In a shelter, ghetto area
Nobody cares
Dog eat dog the criteria
Woman down so long!

You try to control my space
To keep me in my place
To make yourself feel safe
Threats to kill me
Bust  up my face and more
Throw me in a river
Stab me up ever more
Cut off my head
No one will ever find me, you said
Woman down, down, down!

Nowhere to hide or run
The dogs come out to hunt
Screaming and rejoicing, they cry
"That cunt"
"You feel you better than us"
Yeah, they love the stinking cuss
That's how they live
That's how you live
Woman down for the count!

But am no runt
Am big and fat
Generous and blunt
To everyone a long rope I give
Watch how they cope
Most let go as they learn am no dope
But you and your pals
tell me to fuck off
I tell them off
No more talk
This woman's been around too goddamn long!

They say am disrespectful
Stinking small nasty hypocrites all
Me, they can't control
And neither can you
Don Denzil Ferguson Alpheas Greigg
I will remain true to who I am
And where I come from
It's no place you know

One year it took me
To find who I really be
Today I am fearless
You cannot keep me down
Kill me you drunken clown
What goes around comes around
Nothing more to get from me
I forget nothing, buddy
This woman is up
Standing her ground
I ain't moving man!


In memory of slain attorney Dana Seetahal

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT - TIME OF YOUR LIFE

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Another beauty from the fab folks at Insight of the Day - a poem by Linda Ellis to assist you in reflecting on the year past and this new one just birthed.

Linda Ellis is a speaker, author and poet. You have probably seen her work in a poem called The Dash.

Lots of food for thought here to reflect on how we dance  life. Do let me know what you think about it.

Time of Your Life

 

Do you reflect upon the years gone by
as you prepare for yet one more,
with promises and resolutions
that you have made before?

 

Do memories of people and places
once as sharp as any knife
now blend in bits and pieces
in a kaleidoscope of life?

 

Do you squander precious minutes
seeking reasons why you're here, 
contemplating your life's purpose
year after passing year?

 

Persuade yourself to understand,
it matters not the reason.
Your purpose is to seize the life
in every passing season!

 

Learn to see things differently.
Let your thoughts and actions change.
Allow your views of past and present
to slowly rearrange.

 

Let your spirit start anew;
become focused and aware
of the moments and the blessings
that surround you everywhere!

 

Do not permit past memories:
the where…the who…the how
to become more important
than the ones you’re making now.

 

Live life in person;
inhabit every day.
You may not like where you are now,
but you’re there anyway!

 

A lifetime is a puzzle,
every failure, each success
adds another jagged piece
to fit together with the rest.

 

To finish the picture
and view the masterpiece whole,
fill the time of your life
with your heart and your soul.

 

Acquaint yourself with your feelings
and heighten your senses.
Experience living.
Put down your defenses.

 

You don't have to know why
you are you, and I’m me.
Believe it is what it is
and it’s how it should be.

 

You did not choose your date of birth,
nor do you know your last,
so live this gift that is your present,
before it becomes your past.

 

Linda Ellis, copyright 2011

 

To get more information on Linda please take a moment and go to: linda-ellis.com I know that you will be glad you went there.

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The Best Season of Your Life

Ten thousand flowers in Spring,

The moon in Autumn,

A cool breeze in Summer,

Snow in Winter.

If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things,

This is the best season of your life.

-- Wu-men

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A One-Legged Bird Can Still Fly

Sleeping Caribbean Flamingo 

What must I do
Am I a fool
That doesn't ring true

Am I a song
Whose melody is unsung

Am I a one-winged bird
That cannot fly
A blackbird that cannot be white

A one-legged bird can still fly
That means I can try

I refuse to make do
That would lead to...

More poo

I intend to break free
I intend to do what's right for me
I intend to live in truth and in love
And fill that hole in my soul.

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Be Who You Are

After 14 days, I have Internet again so here's to be who you are:

BE WHO YOU ARE

What are you
Why are you
Are you life
Are you love
Are you sweet, bitter, sour
There's no wrong answer

Live life now
Full of WOW
Joy and pain
Will wax and wane
To come round again

We are here
To learn and earn
To give and receive
To share that most precious gift
Love
It is a two-way street
Don't wait until Christmas to give

Any tricks up your sleeve
Then take them out
Give them a shout
Live out loud
That's what life is all about

You shirk your duties
Then you lie
Happy and spry
But in the end 

You will be sorry

For not living authentically

That too is a lesson
You're here to learn
You reap what you sow
No one is clean as driven snow

Practise what you preach
Teach
Show and tell
And all will be well

Be who you are
And in the darkest hour
In the brightness of day
You will find your star.

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A Hole In My Soul

This poem came to me as I was meditating this morning. No doubt born of the angst and frustration I'm putting myself through at the moment.

Here's to sharing... Please enjoy and may it bring comfort, succor and perhaps inspiration to those who find it.

I have a hole in my soul

It's as large as the world

I must fill it

With home grown spirit

I toil

It roils

And I boil

Trying to fill it

But there's no limit

What must I do

Am I a fool

Who doesn't ring true

Am I a song

Whose lines have not been sung

Is the melody wrong

A one-winged bird cannot fly

A blackbird cannot be white

A one-legged bird can still fly

That means I can still try

I can make do

But that would lead

To more poo

I refuse to make do

I intend to break through

To me and you

I intend to do what's right

For me to be true

I intend to live in truth and in love

And fill that hole in my soul

My birthright is gold

Enveloping the whole world

My energy is bright

Keeping the world alight

With my heartlight

I am

Alight in the world.

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Message to Haiti of Love and Friendship

I grew up in the English-speaking Caribbean twin island state of Trinidad and Tobago. I learnt more about Haiti outside of the Caribbean than I ever did in it.

My First Haitians

The first Haitians I met were my colleagues in New York at the United Nations Development Programme. Those encounters opened my mind and spirit and made me want to know more about them.

They seemed so foreign and mysterious and it wasn't the language because I grew up speaking French and Spanish. It was something else.

I realised that I knew nothing about them at all. They were always very correct - Marie-Claude was so stylish and classy! - and friendly, yet I felt a distance between us.

It took me a long while to understand what it was and by then I had moved to Switzerland. They expected more from me as a Caribbean sister and I was unable to give it.

A Little Caribbean History

The Americans

To me, Haitians were just as foreign as the Americans with whom we have a strong and distrusting relationship.

I should add that when we Caribbean people criticise Americans we really mean the American government. However, the average Joe tends to get painted with the same brush.

The thing is we never know what shit they're going to pull next so we tend to be wary. Their lying arrogance well before George W. Bush's era has not made them any friends.

There's too much sordid history between us, the truth of which never makes it into the American news cycle.

Mixed Up Relationships in the Caribbean - A Bird's Eye View

The English-speaking Caribbean knows more about Martinique, Guadeloupe etc. from their Zouk music, Latin America in general and Venezuela and Cuba in particular.

Yet French and Spanish are mandatory in schools in Trinidad and Tobago (well, it was when I was of school age).

We know very little of our proud Haitian brothers and sisters except for the bigoted, ignorant "they say" nonsense about the native Haitian religion, Vaudou when in fact the official religion is Roman Catholic. And the island's undeniable poverty.

Most, if not all Caribbean states maintain a hands-off approach to Haiti as if they don't want to be contaminated by... the poverty, government sponsored murders, and the systematic degradation of its people.

All supported by the American government over the past umpteen decades right up to George W. Bush's administration, and its powerful World Bank and IMF arms which finished off the country completely.

Because they have always wanted a foothold in the Caribbean to fight the so-called Cuban menace after they lost their 99-year lease in Trinidad and Tobago in the seventies, if my memory serves me right.

A Little Haitian History

The Demand for Freedom

Haitians are descendants of the first African slaves in history - anyone's version - who liberated themselves from slavery with no outside help.

And in simplistic terms - since their fascinating history is not the subject of this post - that was the beginning of the end of the Pearl of the Antilles as it was called back then.

France demanded that Haiti pay reparations for all 'the cattle they had lost', humans and otherwise in order to be recognised as a legitimate country. The Haitians agreed.

And it took them 125 years to pay the false debt which equalled seventy percent (70%) of their GDP. That money today by general estimates is approximately 21 billion US dollars. Those payments which ended in the 1920s completely destroyed Haiti.

The French were ably supported by the Americans, and all other European countries. It was a sick and twisted affair. In return for assisting the French in destroying The Pearl of the Antilles, the French sold Louisiana and New Orleans to the Americans.

All because these 500,000 black Africans had the audacity to throw off the shackles of slavery by killing the mighty white soldiers and slave owners.

Sir Hillary Beckles, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the Cave Hill Campus, University of the West Indies in Barbados recounts this ever so eloquently in his article The Hate and Quake.

Caribbean Ignorance and Western Disinformation

And you know what's awful in all of this, most of this information is not part of schools history classes in Trinidad and Tobago.

Like me, the average Trinbagonian and other citizens of the Caribbean Commonwealth (Caricom) learns about Haiti and it's peoples after they complete their formal education, and unfortunately much of it is misinformation.

If you wish to learn more about Haiti, read Reginal Dumas' well-written,  An Encounter with Haiti. He is an extremely sharp ex-diplomat and Special Adviser on Haiti to Koffi Annan.

His words are succinct and his view piercing and hit the mark every time which is why the so-called leaders in Caricom keep him at arms length when in truth and in fact, they need his input. They are more comfortable with the western disinformation.

My Rising Pain Body

It wasn't my intention to write this article. I didn't even have a draft or an outline. My intention was to write the poem that was on my mind about Haiti this morning, but it is what it is.

I am very upset (as we say here) about this latest disaster and that anger has raised my hackles about the past injustices perpetrated on Haiti, and on the Caribbean region in general.

I know however that it's my emotional pain body which is always waiting for negative emotions to "play with my head". So it's time to talk about love instead.

Eckhart Tolle coined the term pain body in A New Earth. Even if you read this book five times as I have, you would still find something new the sixth time! It's wonderful...

Basically, the pain body is an accumulation of painful experiences developed from childhood onward which raises it's ugly head when you start thinking angry or painful thoughts. They are always triggered by something which takes you back to the original event.

Message to Haiti of love and friendship

Haiti

My heart goes out to you

Despite appearances

We are all here for you

Although the Caribbean is your home

You were all alone

Never truly at home

History made you lonesome

Your culture

Your vibrancy

The heart-aching poverty

And daily misery

Most rise above so beautifully

And spiritually

This destruction

Will lead this time

To your proper reconstruction

So long in coming

Your children

So young

Our children

So strong

We stand as one

Now is the time

To care

To share

To cherish all we hold dear

Our hearts as one

Haiti

Our child, our mother

Our sister and brother

Our forgotten one

Now you're coming home

Where you belong

Accepted with open arms

No longer forgotten

Now it's our turn

To make our peace

We are all one

And this quake has shown

We cannot let you down

This is the time

The turning point

To set things right

You have already done your part

Against the odds

Now it's up to us

To show compassion

And share your passion

Your love and vibrancy

So very special to we

Haiti we love you

And this time

We are here for you

Take this hand

Of love and friendship

We will never let it slip.

Technorati Tags: Message-to-Haiti-of-love-and-friendship

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Everything is Easy When You Allow

Letting go is hard
Abandoning the control you know
Opens the door to what you don't know
But you have to
If your future you are to know

Letting go
That's allowing ever more
It's nothing fancy
And I'm certainly not a nancy
Letting go is easy
When you know how
But it's damn hard
Because it looks like a void

Letting go is easy
When there's no choice
Hard jumping into that void
But do it you must
It's all about trust

Infinite Intelligence knows what's best for us
The only thing we control
All of us
Are our thoughts
So form up we must
Tribulations with guts
Everything is easy when you allow.

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The People of One Race: I Was There... and So Were You

I was there from the beginning, you know. When it was all one land, one continent - the African land. It didn't have a name. It was just one massive expanse, Africa, Asia and so many others, that rolled on as far as the eyes could see, and then some.

Dusty and hot, sparse scrub and great trees. You could go farther too. To the savannah, lions and tigers and other animals not like you know them now - they were peaceful then. Lots and lots of space, all naked grace, the people of one race.

The queen, the shaman healer mightier than any other. Only she was covered - the queen. Her magnificent robe of animal skin dyed in all colours and head dress matchless. Her tent was huge, palatial. She could have any man but she wanted none but one.

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A Prayer In Your Ear: A Life Not Mine

A prayer in your ear
Praying
What's that thing
What are they saying
What's it mean
A prayer to hear


Down on your knees
That's religion breed
I'm not into knees
What's it please
Seems strange to me

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The Anguish of Wanting and Not Knowing The Way Back

Soothing myself
Sabotaging myself
Help
Need to find self
What am I doing
Sitting on the shelf
Help

Always want to go further
Want to know her
Life's not for her
Just adore her
Get to know her
That's what you're there for

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Memories of My Incredible Pug - Elton

In memory of my beautiful boy Pug, Elton de Peralla de La Cacahuète.

He had to be put to sleep after a massive stroke in October 2006 which left him completely paralyzed.

He was a fabulous thirteen.

Elton,
my smoochie poochie
Being silly, being so dilly
You’re a honey

I love thee
Truly appreciate who you be
You’re very special to me
You taught me truly, truly, how to be.

Your reaction so subtle

Never directable, always honest
You want or you don’t
But playacting you won’t

You bound, you’re a hound
Large as life
A little star bright
Eyes always alight and spry as a little tyke.

One, two, already on the food
There’s nobody like you
And that will always be true

Now old boy age has caught up with you
No longer spry but spirits still high
To compensate for the sight
Eyes no longer bright
They barely see light.

You want to walk more but you can’t
So what do you do
You head for a shady bench, and
Sit under there
Your message clear.

Then one morn, you say
Mom, I can’t go on

Take me home

Send me on

To where hounds abound
They’re racing to the horn
Carefree all day long

What else could I do but send you along.

Heart breaking on that dawn
I feed you the best and temporarily rest
Delaying the final test of taking you over the crest
You and only you come next
You pass the test and go to your rest.

First shot, you’re out the gate
Snoring away
Then my heart truly breaks
I know what’s at stake

Second shot and you’re off the spot
Shouting, hey guys, wait up

Tears flowed to fill a boat

I’m left alone, feeling blue
Yet wonderful too
So much happiness

A kind of bliss
But poochie I tell you truly
You’ll be missed
You have a place in my heart always
A big hug and a kiss.

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The Stressless Way

The Stressless Way

Live life now

Don't be cow'd
You're here for one reason only
To become who you're meant to be

Face up to your challenges
You're never given more than you can handle
Don't burn at both ends like a candle
Start to live now

Only one life is given you
If you don't have one

You know what to do

Don't let stuff get in your way

Ask the universe for help every day
And you'll be okay

Deal with what's bugging you

Take back control of your life

No one can do it for you

Life is about living today

Do what you have to do

Say what you have to say

Get if off your chest
Or walk away

But whatever you do
Do it today
Live the stressless way.




Technorati Tags: stressless

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