A poem by Vincentian poet Peggy Carr


COUNTRY TALK


We box up like banana in
cardboard values still
stamp England pon de side
trying fuh mek root pon ah
scraps ah land wedge in

between deep deep
South America water
ah we door mouth
and stinging nettle Bush
like fire
in we back yard
too much mouth fuh feed
too little voice fuh
anybody hear
we bawling
under the brunt of
free-trade hurricane
clinging like bad lizard to
ganga tree
changing colour
belly on de ground when
hot iron come hovering
leaking conscience
like bamboo basket raking
muddy foreign bank
catching little action but
plenty talk
running wild like love vine over
any back
white or black
scrambling for greenback
morning after morning
still
waking up
stretching