Broken Beyond Repair

Photo by nappy from Pexels

Photo by nappy from Pexels

A quarter section split in two,

Wide, livid eyes deep in life

Peers into the map of my tragedy.

Thick is beautiful Bahbel.

Thick is new.

She is strong and humble,

She is pure.

Wile is your freedom, Bahbel,

Wile is your muse.

She has chosen you,

To be her temple,

That many will attempt to conquer

But will crumple under your rage.

Frizz is your teacher,

She is your guide.

Look into that mirror

And see her smile.

Frizz is your own comfort

That will always allow

You to be raw.

Raw is real, Bahbel,

Raw is a gift.

And you are preciously made,

Just like the kiss

Of your curly, thick hair.

A woman’s hair is made on sacredness,

But yours was designed to

Transcend the nakedness

Of a society too stubborn

To see a real Guyanese beauty.

Theirs is a chore made duty,

But yours, yours is magic

Blessed by the land.

Mended together from the fibres of

Six pairs of hands.

From the coils of your roots,

To the bounce of your spine,

Bahbel, you will age like

The taste of precious red wine.

Come, leh Mama show you the path,

Weave these lessons through your hair.

Nurture the ideals of real womanhood.

Gabrielle E. Mohamed

Hello. My name is Gabrielle Mohamed and I am a 27-year-old Guyanese. In June

2017, I graduated from the University of Guyana with a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in

English – Linguistics. I have a mixed passion for Literature and Linguistics. As an

emerging Creole poet, I believe that the employment of my Guyanese space is essential

to facilitate a breakdown and breakthrough process that will allow us to find our

true selves devoid of any colonial touch. Thus, my writing style attempts to capture

the continual influence of colonial and post-colonial attitudes and behaviors within

the lives of my countrymen.

As a Catholic individual, I testify that the escape from these colonial

touches is possible. My Christian faith has enabled us to establish the solid grounds

of nationhood that will not force anyone into a state of being ‘unhomed’, but allow

us to accept our fate as hybrid individuals of the Caribbean.

In addition to my literature background, I have studied various linguistics

courses that have exposed me to the wealth of knowledge that our diasporic language

scene possesses. As a language student, I have acquired a passion for our native

language, the Guyanese Creole English (G.C.E) which I make a point in integrating

into most my poems in the hopes of spreading its validity and increasing its prestige

within the eyes of my countrymen.

Previous
Previous

Beauty in the Unknown

Next
Next

Dark Coffee