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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