Poems

The Letter (that never came)

by Annette Pateman

I waited by the banana tree,
where you first saw me.
I shaded sun under the leaves.

Watched as others got letters
from foreign.

Saw the faces crack brilliant smiles.
Hands grasping paper
that meant they were going.
Bodies gyrating with joy.

I waited by the banana tree
where you first saw me.
Wondering why your letter
did not find me.

Was the one you called more special than me
Was she more cultured?
More beautiful?
Was her skin softer than mine?
Was she more woman than me?

The answers never came.
You never explained.

I waited by the banana tree,
where you first saw me.
As she sauntered pass me unknowing,
her body freely swaying.

Going to the market,
to buy things for foreign.

I'm Different

by Annette Pateman

I’m different
I’m Black
Yes, I know that.


Unfortunately it’s all
about
the thing I lack

White skin
and hair that hangs
Straight down my back.
 
Would life be different
If I had that?​

My Beauty

by Annette Pateman

 Blurring my eyes,
 blurred lines.
 My beauty slipping away
 from me.
 
My beauty,
that minx
in the red coat.
 
That gorgeous young
woman with the smiling mouth.
That female with the lustrous
and flashing eyes.


Don’t leave me today.
Stay with me a while longer.