Written piece
The Knowing
SANDRA McLEOD
Jamaica
About this piece
A poem which seeks to show the invisible threads, shared history, culture and experiences, that link us as Jamaicans (and also with the rest of Caribbean).
THE KNOWING
It is in the knowing.
The tales of the old wives
The mother stories
Grounding us.
Threads weaved into the fabric of our lives
Imperceptibly holding the words, the songs, the rhythm.
Threads that bind together scattered pieces,
covering us and repairing breaches
Threads that stretch from the Old World to the New
Across centuries and seas
Reminding us
We are An Out of Many[1] people
Tapestry layered,
with an under thread of love and grit
Over, under, knot
at times becoming frayed
But …. there is always new thread
The link, the ink.
Our story continues
Threads- sometimes weaving
like camels through the eye of the needle.
Hard places.
Threads that hold us, even when far from ‘yaad’[2]
Knowing we will always belong to this land
Knowing that our common resilience is sense
As we carry this invisible strand.
The threads we used to “tun we han mek fashion” [3]
Celebration threads
Like Joseph’s coat, beautifully
Stitched.
It is in the knowing.
Knowing how to prepare cassava so the
poison becomes a pleasure.
Or to not eat ackee
until it opens it eyes and greet the day with sunshine colors.
How to negotiate the twists and turns in the road.
It is in the knowing
The herbs for healing, ginger tea for ‘gas’
Knowing the smell of the earth as it prepares itself for rain
then the freshly laundered smell of the newly washed air.
Threads
Black, green, gold
purpose and destiny unfold.
[1] Jamaican Motto-OUT OF MANY ONE PEOPLE
[2] Yaad -colloquial word used by diaspora meaning -our island home
[3] Jamaican proverb- come up with solutions using what is available