For my Grandmother



My  grandmother Hildred Balbirsingh's oftentimes rigid Catholic demeanor would always melt when this song came on. Imagine my childhood delight when I heard her hail marries turned into 'you torture me, the way you wine, i want to see your big behind, audrey, where yah get that sugar from? sugar bum bum'

farvel & happy weekend
agh if only i could have a trini lime 
with some fry fish 
& callaloo,

the lab

Popular posts from this blog

Bandit Queen Press is Proud to Announce Its Second Title!

Image
BANDIT QUEEN PRESS ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF GOOD WORKS A paperback collection of novel excerpts, short stories, memoirs, poems, song lyrics, original sketches, paintings and photographs by English-speaking women living in Denmark. GOOD WORKS can be purchased from ATHENEUM INTERNATIONAL BOOKSHOP, Nørregade 6, 1165 København K, tlf (45)33 126970. On-line orders at www.atheneum.dk FOR ENGLISH SPEAKERS phone the store or email books@atheneum.dk with their request!! Support Bandit Queen Press! “Refreshingly varied, yet with a common thread….10 women, all accomplished writers, celebrate in 10 individual voices the expatriate experience - in prose, poetry, images and song. A valuable, and enjoyable, addition to the literature of displacement and assimilation.” Heather Spears, award-winning Canadian poet “To leave one's home country can be an exhilarating and even frightening adventure that cries out for expression. Good Works puts words to the expatriate experience in all its frus...
Read more

Aya - put some respect on her name

Image
ayahuasca vine illustration imt *content warning*  describes the use of nontraditional methods of treating trauma and the use of psychedelic substances. this article is meant to educate and not as a prescription. by Lesley-Ann Brown I’m not a sociologist, so I’m not fully equipped to interpret what it means when a person or thing becomes a punchline to a Chelsea Handler joke, but I am sure there are worse fates. Still, when I heard ayahuasca’s name come out of her mouth, I felt a need to speak up for it like you’d speak up to a bully picking on your best friend. Although, in all fairness to Handler, the joke was funny, this time.   I’m using Chelsea Handler as an example here – because I know how problematic she can be. And the fact that I’m engaging with this name, is a testimony to the power of ayahuasca.   Full disclosure: I’m one of those annoying folks who refer to ayahuasca as ‘Aya.’ But according to the South African Black Consciousness Scholar Simmi Dullay, ‘Aya’ ...
Read more