often we forget
this is all we have
no second chance
to cherish those we love
to go for what we want
to be present
to be mindful
to be alive
our life is
as slender as a piece of thread
easily boken
but the moments we share
speaking our truths
being thoughful
giving freely of our love
laughing
laughing
that we have this time
this day
this breathe
breathe into life
breathe into all you have
we tend to underestimate
how long and far a journey sweetness
can take us
and it requires
very little of us
to be sweet that is
to enjoy the rewards
a smile
a touch
good loving
to get us where we want
to go
the almond tree that houses
my meditation tea house
has decided that she wants
a new green dress
and I’m okay with that
as a woman
i understand the desire
to change things up
flaunt what’s left of
your beauty
see if heads still turn
when you walk down the street
but this woman is messy
instead of just giving away or
tossing the old dress
she has been for the past week
cutting it up into small pieces
as if to say I am done with you
but since you did look good on
me once
me go tek me time
and peel you away
–red firy leaf after leaf
strewn all over the floor
and ground–
so you remember me
daily as I sweep
these bits of her former self
i nod in salutation
and me tell her
girl me see yuh
and me overstand
how as women age
we have fi go on bad
to get just a little
attention
but she nah listen to me
so me sweep
so she toss
another bit of her old dress
to the seekers of words
who know
to put words
to memory
is to let history live
continue the promise
of our ancestors
provide a future
for our children
and advance our soul-force
to use words
understanding their importance
how language shapes and identifies things
how it takes the mystery
out of darkness
and illuminates the magic
of life
words wet as the sea
hot as the sun
sticky as gum
flexible as elastic
words
naming the beginning
and trying to define the end
words
much more than
a mouthful
My only crime is writing.
I descend into sin when I flaunt how much I enjoy this writing thing
and wanting to wallow in it as much and as often as I can
as if it were melted chocolate
in which to bathe
it should be a law
then complainers
would have to find
solutions
or shut up
it emanates
from self dissatisfaction
that has to be passed on
refusal to look
at self agency
and a willingness
to stay stuck
dissatisfied
the same story
get told over
and over
at the same registry
recommendation
find what is good in your life
seek out and report
on the beauty in the world
smile more
develop an appreciation of others
change what you don’t like
just leave your stories
at the door
Tuesdays we walk Manchineel beach
most call is Hay Penny
the vernacular for Half Penny
but these tempting looking apples
that line the beach are poisonous
I alternate between walking and jogging
jumping over waves racing beyond the shore line
At the end of the beach where rocks
form a barrier I perch on a pillar
allowing my mind to wander as is often
my eyes search the landscape
taking in the ridges of the hills
the greens and blues and straw colored too
Brian meets we half way
after treading in the bush
he has husked 2 coconuts
the water sweet but little
I spoon out the firm meat and chew slowly
my breakfast
On our return walk
we pick up plastic bottles
cans paper trash others
careless leave behind
unmindful that paradise needs help
to maintain her beauty
I stop to photograph the nesting bed
of a leatherback sea turtle
now is there hatching season
a gentle wind fans my face
the sun polishes my back
arriving at our favorite spot
I diving into the temperate ocean
grass snags my feet
waves tickle my nostrils
my gratitude is boundless
today de body said
lef me be
mind says
kyan tink
moved from
pillows to bench
to tree to sofa
an achiness
a floating
an in-betweenness
overload
trying too hard
to rectify
remedy
amend what needs
to be left alone
the world continues
to turn
if it really does
jus settle
inner knowing advises
rain nah fall today
meditating in the tea house
built in the almond tree
my eyes turn to the bananaquit
as it lands in the fur of cotton
trapped in the lemon tree
then flits to the top of the almond trees
lost among the thick pear-shaped leaves
not even its brilliant yellow-breasted
stomach can i see
but no time to ponder
its actions
lucia feeding the dogs below
attract my attention
as he bangs on the branch of the tree
to get powder’s attention
who raises its hind legs
to the branch and dances
all the while my chime
continues its ceaseless
sounding
tinkle tinkle tinkle
like a dervish dancer
caught in the frenzy of his own
swirling
walking out unto the patio
picking thyme
hanging clothes on the line
the history of work and food
the love of soil
forced from us
years of free enslaved labor
the image of poverty
stamped unto africa
the almond tree
shedding leaves
sweeping the leaves
from the guinep tree
sighting a deer
kin to those brought to st croix
over 200 years ago
the ocean on the horizon
looking mostly white
a sliver of blue
declaring its true identity
sipping my coffee
lizards scamper
from branch to branch
all is well in my world
Opal Palmer Adisa 