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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

In Honor of National Poetry Month...




The Poetry of Yasmin Morais
Selections from her book "From Cane Field to the Sea"


BELLE'S PROPERTY

She cleaned offices by night,
always holding on tight
to the dream of owning a piece of the rock.

Every pound and shilling mattered.
Soon, she withdrew from the Bank of Mattress,
enough to pay down on a small property in Kingston.

She stared at the receipt with incredulity.
Semi-literate single mother
on her way to owning land?

One more baby and many hardships later,
Belle lost her property and her dreams.
My grandma went to her grave feeling
smart-talking lawyers deliberately cheated her.



BLESSINGS

"God bless you my child," my grandma would say
for simple acts of love I'd do each day.
Combing her hair.
A drink of water.
Reading chapters of her favorite book.

All these elicited outpoured blessings, not fully understood
by my young mind.
Now the flowing bounties I see
confirm the legacy of my grandma's blessings
resting on me.

(C) 2011 Yasmin Morais


AUTHOR BIO:
Yasmin Morais was born in Jamaica.
She lived in Toronto for nine years and now resides in the U.S.
She is a Librarian in a law library and blogs at Poets of the Caribbean.
Visit her site and enjoy more of her words and works at:
Poets of the Caribbean.


SPECIAL NOTE: Pen and Prosper is sponsoring a give-away for National Poetry Month! Comment on any blog post during the month of April, and you could win a free copy of Yasmin's poetry book! Two random winners will be selected.

Image Photography BJWOK
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13 comments:

  1. Jennifer Brown BanksApril 19, 2011 at 6:31 AM

    I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Yasmin for offering her new book for our first give-away, and for sharing such awesome poetry to kick off National Poetry Month.

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  2. Karen LangeApril 19, 2011 at 6:44 AM

    Thank you, Jennifer and Yasmin, for sharing these poems. I think my favorite is Blessings, although
    I did enjoy the other as well. :) The giveaway sounds wonderful, thanks for that as well.
    Happy Tuesday,
    Karen

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  3. Jennifer Brown BanksApril 19, 2011 at 7:34 AM

    Hi Karen,

    Thanks for stopping by and weighing in.

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  4. Barb HodgesApril 19, 2011 at 11:19 AM

    Jennifer, thank you for introducing me to Yasmin's poetry. You can tell by my blog that I love to write poetry too.

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  5. Jennifer Brown BanksApril 19, 2011 at 11:53 AM

    Hi Barb,

    You're welcome. I think her work deserves to be shared. ;-)

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  6. YvonneApril 19, 2011 at 3:47 PM

    This is great! What a wonderful way to introduce us to other writers and/or poets! I enjoyed these poems very much and look forward to reading more!

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  7. Jennifer Brown BanksApril 19, 2011 at 5:33 PM

    Hi Yvonne,

    Girl, where you been? :-) Thanks for reconnecting and adding to the mix.

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  8. AndreaApril 20, 2011 at 8:52 AM

    Thanks for sharing Yasmin's work with us Jen. She is a remarkable woman.

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  9. Jennifer Brown BanksApril 20, 2011 at 6:27 PM

    Hi Andrea,

    It takes one to know one! :-)

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  10. Yasmin MoraisApril 21, 2011 at 4:51 AM

    Hi Jennifer,

    Thanks for sharing my poems, and I am glad your readers are enjoying them. I look forward to more inspiring posts from you, and hope you had an enjoyable break.

    Yasmin

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  11. Jennifer Brown BanksApril 21, 2011 at 4:58 AM

    Thanks, Yasmin! Much appreciated.

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  12. AnonymousApril 30, 2011 at 11:09 AM

    Wow, both of those touched my heart. There's no greater love than a mommy and grandma and I felt Yasmin's love for hers jump off the screen.

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  13. Jennifer Brown BanksApril 30, 2011 at 1:06 PM

    How true! Thanks.

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