Jamaica, Jamaica why is there so much violence?

There was a big difference in your behaviour the other day,

there were fewer killings because you put down the guns and had

Fun out in the sun when our athletes were at the

Olympic Games making us proud without using

Any sword, but our crime rate is getting loud again

And I wonder when it will end. The children often

scream and run under the beds begging for

the gunshots to stop; there is hardly time for them

to enjoy ice cream and play games of dice, when will you

gunmen realise the price is too high when you

continue with your violence?

The children are traumatised by your sunrise violence

And you make everything seems all right when you dance

In the streets but we all know there is just too much heat

In the streets, everyone from near and far, even the drunks

In the bars are curious about why our decent country is so

violent.

- Damion McCatty

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Grandfather's church

It stands there framed by towering old breadfruit trees,

Waiting for the hymns and praises of Sunday morning worship

Silently

Weathered wooden doors guard its treasured serenity

Its rows of stoic pews lie eerily

Empty

And the pallid stone walls

Drags us back in time

Stirring childhood memories

Unwittingly

And where the village hill slopes to the shaded river

And where the sun hides behind shadowy trees

We bow our heads

Prayerfully

And a warm tear trickles down wrinkled cheeks

Ever so gently.

- R. Oscar Lofters

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Suffered

There once lived a man who lived a life of grief

To Yahweh he prayed and yearned for relief.

His burden was great for him to bear,

But to none of his friends his pains could he share.

People thought he had lost his mind,

But to his point of view none like him one could find.

He really thought that he was cursed,

Because no one could see and understand his hurt.

Yahweh, he knew, understood his pain,

By calling on Him, his tongue he did not refrain.

Worthy he was, though not sure of his destiny.

Yahweh said this man's zeal is strong and also his humility.

Job was that man, who the devil tried to destroy,

By playing with his faith as if it was a toy.

Harsh, prolonged and severe was His testing,

But his wife was unable to make him give up on his King.

Job remained strong and stood his ground,

Even though his burden was so profound.

He did not give up on Yahweh; Yahweh gave up not on him.

Yahweh took his pains and turned them into blessing.

- Cordel Reid