Christine Phillips | + Follow Poet |
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Tell Me What You Hear

I have been listening to the different sounds around
The town and they can tell you where you are bound
I have been listening to the sounds around the town
And they make me want to frown,
 good sound, sweet sounds, tumultuous sounds
 and deceitful sounds 
sounds that are bouncing up and down in the air
And they are not landing anywhere. I have said
to myself what is the meaning in this when they
are walking around with the pirate’s dish, holding one
company in their hands and pressing down the covers
with the other hand, 
oh, I forget that it is Friday and some
people have to pray, they are called  it the seven days
The rain is coming down and I am sitting on concrete
Seat in the middle of the town, 
there are more umbrellas in the town than
shopping bags and more people gather at the
corner store than the supermarkets 
they are mumbling sounds in their belly while others
are looking for rice and curry. 
The men on Kitchen Street are very busy, cooking
some chopping up jerk pork and jerk chicken 
and the people in the soup kitchen are stirring up the pots with
all the courage they have got, 
every man has a colorful umbrella hanging over their little cart
and goods loaded inside to start the Fridays
bargin 
Friday evening in Jamaica is a special 
and many people think that it is divine 
because Jamaica is one of a kind
The people usually spend their money on the street corner
and eat food outside to satisfy their big appetite this is
a Friday evening tradition in Jamaica
The sound on market street is very calm and
The traffic is moving slowly along
Today is very slow and many people are
on the go, they don’t have much money to spend
and some homes are still without bread
I can hear the banging sound from a distance
Empty sounds and the people are talking above each other
And shouting across the park
The smoke from the jerk pan is spilling
Laugher and excitement in the air and I am 
Holding something dear
The trees are very still and they are also listening 
To the excitement in the city
I can feel the raindrops beating in my head
And plastic covering rumbling over the computer
the rain is coming down and I am hearing another sound
My back is wet and my spirit is dry 
And not one tear is coming from my eyes
I have built up a strong resistance over the years 
and I have no fear, I wish if I can understand the secret of man
and when he is going to land
I have been waiting for many months and I still
Don’t know when everything will come through 
The same sound keeps going around 
They are literal sound and they are symbolic sounds
The police car is driving around chasing the
Taxi men from the center of the town,
They have apprehend one man and put him in the van
They are flashing their lights in the streets and
Intimidating the business people and the vendors
It is Friday evening for heaven sake please give
the people a break and let them shake t
The sound keeps getting louder 
and the evening is getting stronger
business is rolling in the town and rain is running
down the aisle without a gown,
 The night is coming alive and people have paid a full sacrifice 
the sound is getting closer and I am feeling much better
Sweet aroma is circulating in the air and you
must come out and  support the people selling
Jerk on Kitchen Street, I don’t have a penny in my pocket
to spend but the sweet scent  makes me happy
come out and celebrate this Friday night
The achievement and victory of a brand new sound 
And if you listen carefully you will hear the 
hidden music in the sound.

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