Poem
on Kate in Guyana (Guyana), 07/Jul/2010 17:36, 34 days ago
How do you Like our Beautiful Country?It’s a difficult question without a doubtIt’s taken eleven months to find outBut now I’m leaving, I can reflectI’m looking back with rose tinted specsSo forget the mosquitoes, rubbish and fussAnd the awful drivers on the minibusBotanical Gardens with buttressed treesToucan calling in the morning breezeFalcons hunting from the NCN towerKingfisher dives by lily flowerCaciques that squawk, humming birds flitCayman– just one foot long, I’ll admit!Blue sky after a day of rainSea wall walks– saw a pelican againLily leaf offerings set afloatDemarara view of a docking boatShady elegance along Main StreetPineapple with ice cream today for a treatChatting in the yard with our landlady whoSays,“Find a little something you can doBring some teachers that you can trainThey’ll come for the lunch at NCERD againWho knows how things will turn outWhen you’ve been here some months and found your way about.”Special school visits by bus, ferry, bikeTo listen to needs and find what they’d likeWorking in the office, countless mugs of teaStudying and working to discover how weCan do training for inclusion, so we willBanish despair and make hope possible.My friends in the choir– you gave me a songTo sing in my heart when the hours were longYou let me sit beside you to struggle with the altoOf ambitious cantatas, the harmony of calypsoYou gave me insight into how you copeWith your Guyanese life, with faith and hope.Soft lights of Diwali and Christmas diningMeeting the Minister. music and winingNew Year fireworks as people standMashramani parades and costume bandMuslim kasidas, Phagwah paint sprayedWill it wash out? No, I’m afraid!Dear VSO friends, if we’re smiling or we’re madYou’ve put up with my worries, which can’t be badYou’ve listened to my woes, you’ve cut my hairYou’ve suffered my cooking and the shortage of beerSo I thank all you people, as in God’s handI can now find the beauty in this land.