Jamaican Poetry: Hurricane: Ivan, Di Terrible

By: Denise N. Fyffe.
Copyright © 2012, Poetess Defy, Denise N. Fyffe

Yuh nuh hear wah a gwaan, Yuh nuh see how it go Duwn;
Yuh nuh hear sey Ivan visit Jamdown.
All di likkle picknie dem a comb di roadside,
Carry bucket pon dem head an kotch it pon dem side.
Di isle yah mash up, Di river run duwn;
Di people dem house wash wey inna river, In Kingston.

Cave Valley, St. Ann deh unda wata, Up a country one man loose him daughta.
Nobody was spared, Nobody was dried, Cause Ivan mek sure lik from side to side.
Yuh nuh hear wah a gwaan, Yuh nuh see how it go Duwn;
Ivan Mash up Elizabeth, Caribbean Terrace, and downtown.
If yuh eva see di crater dem, A now we go be known,
Cause dem yah pothole gaan unda ground.

If yuh eva see di road from Papine to Gordon Town street;
Di light post dem lie duwn and look beat. Di people dem wanda, a how so much fall;
A di fus mi a see light wire run pon wall.

Fi wi 9/11 neva did so bad,
Cause we can still cook di rice an beef an drink orange juice inna bag.
Mi well an a wait fi hear di next Lovindeer song;
Cause mi waan knuh if dread mek it, Are him house wash weh a riverbank.
Mi sorry fi di girl who dem rape, Why man have fi behave like big ole ape?
Imagine she a seek shelter an instead get trauma. God, bless har soul, An save har fi lata.

Dem sey 16 dead, Perish from storm, tree an some a dem drown.
But di saddest ting, most a dem die by di gun. How we so wicked? How we so cruel?
Yuh see di man shop an grudge him fi him food. Mek di man prosper and find yuh own,
Else di next time gun bark, A yuh a go be 6 feet unda ground.

God bless we sah, Yuh neva see it; When we wrap up an a pray,
Ivan a prips di south coast street.
God create one bariyah an sey nuh pass sah, Cause inna da land a mi sons and daughtas.
Spare dem life, fi see one ada day, Let dem be, Hear dem a pray.
Mi angels sit duwn pon di roof and guard every winda, Stay out dere an keep yuh corna.

But God good eh, Yuh nuh see what a gwaan,
Mi have phone service straight through the storm.
Light go weh, all now it nuh come back; But wata deh yah and mi fill 2 pot.