Except in my realm which is the land of no return
men are everywhere subject to birth and death
—Bhagavad Gita
For Martin Carter
This is the dark time Martin
this dark you will not see, men file past
your corpse with strained faces.
Locked behind rusty iron bars
party disciples in the Commission House
count anxious ballots, others shout in protest.
At evening today is your burial
today you are quick
tomorrow you’re gone
Another poet born
would craft the world.
Smell of ghostly flowers
I abhor, yet they are borne
in my hand as pen and paper
which you will need in your otherness.
Therefore go boldly to thy kingdom come
and wear your wings in Elysium fields
and wear your wings till you be born again.
Shipwrecked
I am still here shipwrecked
in the Caribbean
made famous
by Christopher
injecting mother earth
with cane tops
to make ends meet
bending my ancient
back
in the sweltering heat
contemplating escape
from limey pack
Enmore estate
under attack
Virginia discovery
make me worry
I planting tobacco
switching in time
to save nine white mouth
niggers
never African
I am still here aground
in thoughts of Africa
after 400 years no pay
in sun hot
is time I call it quits
and make up my mind
Reuel Lewi is a Guyanese poet and dramatist and a former teacher in the Department of English at Buxton Community High School, Georgetown, Guyana. He holds a Bsc-Sociology from the University of Guyana and has published in the literary journal Poui, the Guyana Christmas Annual, and the poetry journal Timbucktu. His poems have also been broadcast on the Voice of Guyana Radio. He lives and works in Anguilla.