Following our Windrush RAP Party event at the London Library in June, we invited young people to submit their own Windrush-inspired poems for the chance to see them published on our newly revamped website. We are delighted to announce that eight poems have been selected to sit alongside those of the professional poets.
Many congratulations to Nia Brown, Michaela Chambers, Wenenda Chika, Anastasia Giodea, Annie Oiaya, Shakyrah Peat, Daijah Pindi and Jahzeyah Robinson for their inspiring poems, which you can read below.
Nia Brown – HOME
Through my dreams happiness is a reality
The cool breeze brushing past me
Whistling as she goes
Humming smiling
Running around my home
My friend smiles at me
Shining in the sky
The fresh air I try to grasp
But then I start to cry
My dream came to an end
My nightmare has begun
There’s no turning back
I wish I could run
Screeching banging floods my ears
I go out the door
Home isn’t there
I wish I could fly
But my wings are broken
So I have to stay
All day I work
All night I hope
The surge of wheels never stop
I think and wonder
Write and other
Just another day
Night
My only friend is the man in the moon
And as normal he goes away to
One day I hope I wake up to sunshine and the waves of water
I breathe again
Not the same
Through my dreams happiness is a reality
Like I’m a bird flying free
Home lives in my heart
With me to the end
I go to sleep
Smiling
Back to my fantasy again
Home is a place that if you leave it behind you’ll miss it
Michaela Chambers – The soul of Windrush
In the land where the Windrush sails, a tale of strength
and hope prevails.
Jamaica’s shores, a vibrant sight, where dreams take
flight in pure delight
Oh Windrush, vessel of dreams, carrying souls across the
seas
From distant lands, they came to seek, A promised
destiny, brave and meek
Through the Caribbean’s azure seas, they journeyed
ahead, wild and free,
Leaving behind a land full of memories, to a foreign
land
they dared to seek
Wenenda Chika – Untold Mysteries
Grandpa used to say destiny was inevitable,
But deep down he knew it was achievable;
Father to son, man to man, the truth is born.
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” he would always say,
But who knew he meant you had a heavy price to pay?
Growing up my father never really had a voice,
But as a man he decided to have a choice.
Hidden from the eye of humanity;
The true meaning of the word “reality”.
Within me the word “trouble” was born,
But to avoid it, I must walk the pathway of thorns;
And to extinguish it, deteriorate it all;
From the lineage of black expected to be bright.
What happens when you don’t know what’s right –
Are you then expected to fight back?
Or do you just give up and wait for the right time to attack?
But one question, was it worth it in the end?
Anastasia Giodea – Our Unspoken Truths
Communism ruined patterns,
Large embroideries were burnt,
The mother tongue no longer matters,
When all we care about is not learnt.
My parents wanted me to grow up different,
Away from all the pain and hurt,
But did I really want to leave,
And leave behind my place of birth?
How can I be back at home,
And feel like an absolute stranger?
When my identity is written down here on paper,
But I’m a trespasser, amongst my nation.
Annie Oaiya – PARTY ANIMAL
The party booming and lively
and here I am excited like it’s
the first morning of the summer
holiday with the warm rays of sun
gracing itself upon my skin which
reminds me of the first time I got my
phone after the 11yrs of my life.
I gasp in excitement as I see a familiar
person in this sea of people rushing about.
But excitement soon turns to shock as I
see her talking to someone as sassy as jerk
chicken this was the exact feeling I felt when
my food got stolen by a seagull on the beach
the excitement turning to despair. But I laugh
happily when she falls face flat trying to run after
a boy, but once again the nervousness returns
stronger than ever and I stand in the same spot
toes curling, heart racing, teeth chattering.
surrounded by people but feel all alone.
Shakyrah Peat – Leaving home
Leaving home’s a tough experience
It’s a scary step, no second guesses
The days before are all jumbled
But the feelings start to muddle
The friends that you’d find here
Are now only a memory to steer
You have to leave them behind
But try to keep them in your mind
Leaving home can be so hard
But it’s a new beginning to start
A new life awaits for you across the shore
It’s a chance to start anew after all
The memories of home will forever stay
But you’ll have to keep them at bay
Leaving home’s a necessary part
It’s a chance to show your heart
Daijah Pindi – But when?
We have stayed united but forever another crisis
They always dishonour their people but wonder why they surprise us
But when? When will our life begin
And when will the hate end
Even now, before you’re gone and disappear
I know there are memories lost to which you don’t adhere
But when? When will they wake up
When will our people stay prayed up
Windrush is the name of a ship not a generation
Windrush is the truth we seek of any situation
But when? Will we stand up and fight back
Or stay apprehensive like young dogs on laps
There is a solution for you and for me
Or is there a problem?
Resentment alive and thriving everywhere
The law threatened another speech, but why should you care?
But again, when?
When can stay strong, fight racism
And not stay locked up tight in prism
Of fear that is
It’s you and me
I wont let them ruin me
But when…
Jahzeyah Robinson – Scandalous Invite?
As I hear the wind blow
My Stomach starts to turn
A mixture of emotions, I’m still yet to learn
Ginger beer, sorrel, fruit punch & rum
Bright yellow Jamaican cheese in-between Bun
Curry goat, fried dumplings, ackee and saltfish
Wanting them now, if you hadn’t noticed
Music Art & Culture, keeping us alive
Struggles are real but we must survive
My family back home
The resentment unclear…
Anxious to return, but that I shall bare
Five years sound so long
Yet the plan will be so great
That when I’m back in sweet Jamaica
We shall surely celebrate!!