Song of the Jelly Man

"Jelly man! Jelly man!"

A stampede of children erupts,

as we stroll by, my own child quizzing me

with eyes that see all these things new.

We have come from a far-away place,

so she could feel this sun upon her face,

so she could feel this earth beneath her feet,

so she might perceive even one song from the symphony of my childhood.

Together, we have come here, to stand under this ackee tree,

to share this unimportant moment that means nothing.

We have come here, so my daughter could hear me say the words

"Wha'appen, sah? Mek mi get two jelly, nuh."

We have come from a far-away place to drink this coconut water

and to do other unimportant things,

because there is no jelly man in that world - that far away place -

and because these moments, moments that mean nothing,

mean everything.

It is here, in this moment, in the gap between us,

that she begins to feel the rhythm of the song

and as the melody rises above the mundane

she begins to join it to her own symphony.

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[Author's Note: This poem was first published in 2019 in The Caribbean Writer, Vol. 33 (USVI).]

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If you enjoyed this poem, I invite you to read the short story, which is based on this poem: The Jelly Man