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Senior Citizens' Amateur Talent Competition

Writer's picture: Arjune TeeluckArjune Teeluck
Victoria East County - Father's Day Poem - 🏆 First Place


FATHER, LIKE … SON


(Written in our local Trinidad and Tobago/Caribbean dialect)


Father scolds son:

Wot the hell happen to yuh boy, diss is yuh faada talkin

Look boy, siddong dey, yuh little ‘good for nottin’


(Father pauses, lights up a cigarette and takes a shot of vodka and then continues)


Yuh mean to say, you done start to smoke an drink

Yuh hav ah head boy, tink na man, tink!

Man in diss whole village, it eh hav nobody, moh dotish dan you

Night an day you stoddy liming, yuh kyya fine nothing better to do

Every day, from morning till night, me an yuh mumma wokin

Boh you jess like ah blasit leache, is we blood yuh stoddy suckin


I grow-up witout ah modda oh ah faada

Meh gran-mumma, she de hav to clean house for de neighba

Imagine we cudda hardly buy enough food for we to eat

An I de ha to go to school witout book, no shoes on meh feet


(Father reminiscing)

Ah cud remember as ah chile at Christmas time

Meh uncle Boysie, he uce to com home by we to lime

An we is to make toys wid tin pan, an wood

Boy dem times an dem, uce to fell soo good


I cud still rememba how nice ah uce to feel an how safe

An ah cud still remember, de sweet smile on ye face

Ah uce to grieve for meh faada, ah was never lucky to see he

So ah uce to always say diss fathers-day poem, for meh uncle Boysie


(Recites father’s day poem)

‘F’- Is for the ‘FAITH’ that he has in me

‘A’- Is for the ‘ANSWERS’ that is he

‘T’- Is for his ‘TOILS’, he labors long

‘H’- Is for his ‘HEART’ and ‘HAND’ so strong

‘E’- Is for his ‘ENDEAVOURS’ to protect me

‘R’- Is for his ‘RESOLVE’, strong, brave and free.

F-A-T-H-E-R spells father, teacher-leader-friend he is to me.


(Back to the present)

Boy wen I stoddy, how from a lill chile, everyting yuh want yuh geh-in

Yuh hav yuh own room, internet, cable TV an everyting

Boh now yuh gone an tief ah car ‘hub-cap’ an gee yuh pardner for notten

Well de nex time ah leavin yuh right dey in da blasit jail cell to rotten


Allyuh livin hyya moh better than queen an king

Allyuh doh ha to suffer for one single little ting

Boh diss is de tanks we getting for all wey we done do

Boy allyuh is relly-relly nemakharam foh true


Yuh bredda geh hook on drugs, he geh AIDS an ye done ded

Instead ah yuh sister take-up ah book, she take ah man instead

Now yuh is de lass one wey remain hyya in diss house

Boh instead ah yuh lorn from dem, yuh woss dan ah bleddy louse


Well boy, diss is de fuss an lass time ah talking to yuh

An if yuh doh want to lissen, I know jess wey to do

Ah go sell out diss house an laan an move out from diss place

I eh stayin hyya no mo in diss blasit shame an disgrace


Yuh mumma, she still willin to sen yuh back to school

Boh is like all yuh want to be ah stinkin drug mule

An it look like yuh lehin yuh dyam waise rule yuh head

Because instead ah yuh bakin bread, yuh breakin bed


(After a long silence, Son finally replies)

Dad, for toys of tin pan and wood, I would gladly give-up all and this place

For your childhood poverty, but for that uncle-like smile and embrace

(The son finally mustered the courage, got up an hugged his king

And both father and son sat in silence as their ‘father’s day’ poem echoed sweetly in the mind:


In him a friend in me!!!



(Delivered at senior citizens amateur talent competition. First place, County-Victoria East.)

Arjune Teeluck.



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