Giving Thanks - Celebrating Family and Friends

Guest Author, Beverley Picart

Since COVID-19, I have spent some quiet moments with myself.  I have come to realize that there are so many things to be grateful for.  I begin to appreciate with deep, heartfelt gratitude my family and friends.

I feel such joy in my heart when I stop to recognize how good things really are, focusing on what I have, rather than on what I don't.  I feel secure knowing that I have family and friends who I can always depend on.  

I begin to look at the things that make life worth living, that I sometimes take for granted...good health, a career, loving family and friends, a swim in the pool, a hot cup of tea, a full moon, blooming poinciana, a hello from my neighbor, a telephone call from my daughter, a message from my granddaughter.

Today, I am using this medium to celebrate my family and friends, especially my generous children, Shari and Randy, my precious granddaughter, Imani, and my loving siblings.

I want you all to know how much you are appreciated and how grateful I am to have you all in my life.

This fact makes what I have into enough and more, bringing a quiet peace within and comfort to my soul.

Jamaican Poems

Oh! My Jamaica 
Heather Miller 
7/9/2020 

They came first, the Taino Arawaks, ‘bout 300 BC
Xaymaca they named this paradise of God 
In 1494 Christopher Columbus, on orders from Spain
Claimed discovery of what was already there
Plundered, murdered, and brought disease.

Spaniards settled, stole land as its own
Arawaks all dead, no labor force
Who now to work land, tobacco, cotton, coffee?
Work too back breaking, need stronger men
Brought in Africans, their slaves became. 

In 1655 Britain attacked and staked its claim.
Brought in slave ships bearing Africans
Chained, whipped, branded, de-hu-man-ized
Slavery a cash cow, big business for them
Sugar is gold, the economy soared.

Queen Nanny of the Maroons, she wasn’t having it
Revolted and fought and chased them out
From mountains and ridges, and took control
And England begged please, fight us no more
To this day, the Maroons, themselves, they rule.

Sam Sharpe’s uprising to force freedom’s hand
Emancipation August 1st, 1834, but a price to be paid
As poverty reeked among the newly freed
Paul Bogle led rebellion and hung for his efforts
Same fate for George William Gordon.

Sugar no longer the king it once was
Bauxite, coffee, tourism, rum
From the East came Chinese and Indians 
First indentured then claimed their place
With Blacks, with Whites, all Jamaicans, all one.

Marcus Mosiah Garvey called for self-rule
Alexander Bustamante the Labor Party he found 
His cousin Norman Manley, the PNP
Busta, lovingly called, Prime Minister became
August six, 1962, we flew the black, green and gold.

Reggae and Bob, we made the world stage
Joan, Cindy, Lisa, Toni-Ann, Miss World
Jody Ann, the first non-US Spelling Bee champ
Movie “Cool Runnings” ‘bout us in bob sled 
Usain, lightning bolt, world record, 9.58, 1-9-1-9.

Jamaica its share of darkness would bear
Earthquake decimated the world's richest port
Kendall train crash maimed, took many a soul
Hurricane Gilbert with a song of its own
Blew devastation all over the land

Gun violence to come, peace to disrupt
CIA in the country to de-sta-bil-ize
Manley, the son, too close to Castro for them
Dump guns and drugs in rival strong-holds
Brought murder, mayhem and brain drain.

Resilient Jamaica, you will rise again
Great Queen of the isles, God's paradise 
Land of Wood, Water, Out Of Many One
Ackee, saltfish, mahoe, lignum vitae, doctor bird
We cawn figet di patwah, Miss Lou she did it best.

Oh!
Oh! Jamaica!
Oh! My Jamaica!
Oh! My Sweet Jamaica!
Oh! My Sweet, Sweet Jamaica!
I’ll always call you home!

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Ode to Saltfish
Heather Miller
7/11/2020

Di poor codfish nevah stan a chance
Dem tek him an brine him and call him saltfish
Put him wid ackee and call him nashnal dish
Callallo seh him wahn fi him part inna it
Cabbige no wahn lef out, him jine di line to
One pot saltfish mix up wid rice
Soh soh saltfish cook up, bway it nice
Mek wi stamp an goh, saltfish flittahs
Den lawd, mek wi try it inna patty nuh to
Nuttin yuh cawn duh wid di poor saltfish

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Wedded Bliss (Coupling)
Heather Miller
7/11/2020

Bulla court Pear den him marry har
Bun get jealous an jain up wid Cheese
Buttah tell Bread mi wan spread out pan yuh

All Goat wan du is rub up wid Curry
Ackee nuh wan lef out, him hook up wid Saltfish
Oxtail deh wid Braad Bean, but is a sometime ting

Breadfruit nuh pahshall, him goh wid anybaddy.
King Pigstail di cankara, is nuff Red Peas him wan hab
Dem all live tigeddah in pure wedded bliss

 

Thankfulness

My Dear Family:

During our Family Zoom on Sunday, June 21st, daughter Jo-Ann took us through a process of visioning and the Vision Board.  I completed mine after her session and continue to work on it.  Then this past Sunday on July 5th, niece Michelle took us through the Art of Attraction.  I watched one of the video on guided thankfulness and through tears, I cannot believe, I gave thanks for COVID.

One of the questions Jo-Ann asked and on which I pondered was the gift of COVID.  I wrote them down not as gifts but what I gained during the time of COVID.  I did not want to think that that bastardly devil could have brought me "gifts."  The session with Michelle and the prayer of thankfulness changed that.  COVID has brought me so much.  More than anything, it has given me you through Zoom (thanks Annie).  I am so grateful and thankful to see you each week.  You feed me.  Next it gave me nothing but time.  Time for a lot of reflection and action.  I started doing yoga.  Jo-Ann forced me to add workout as a gift on my Board.  I didn't want to because I don't think I have gained the right to do that as yet.  Yes, I now do yoga religiously, but the workout I need to do for wellness hasn't come as yet.  COVID gave me this blog; it awakened and enhanced my writing skills, with the possibility of publishing a book, BOOKS, if my ambition continues; it gave me a voice during this time of Black Lives Matter, and while I was not able to protest, it taught me how to express myself through poetry and performing it.  I have now added courage.  In my fight for Black Equity, I am risking my job as I go after institutions.  AND I DON'T CARE.  There was a time in my life when the fire in my belly would make me protest without care.  Later in life, I became more cautious.  I was worried about losing funding for my place of employment and if truth be told, I was also worried about losing my job.  Now, I can and will walk away.

Another question from Jo-Ann was gifts from our ancestors and I immediately went to my writing gift which comes from both parents through their storytelling (father) and performance (mother).  Today, I began to think more about it and there are so many gifts that I will have to update my Board:

• Fire in my belly from my mother  (Woah, did she have some fire!); 
• Peacefulness and the ability to appreciate quietude and my own company from my father; 
• A caring heart from both (if the Universe ever takes any and all gifts, this is the one I will beg to preserve); 
• Kindness from my mother who gave willingly and my father who knew how to hold on to a penny, but without him spending it, we wouldn't be where we are; 
• Ambition and drive from both (my father left the deep countryside to come to the city, opening a grocery store, purchasing property; my mother left Jamaica to come to the US, leaving behind the security and safety of her own home, where she had someone to do her housework to come to the US to do someone else's, looking for the mythical milk and honey of the US;
• The pursuit of education (they didn't do it for themselves, but they certainly did it for us, my mother finding us the best schools and my father going along with it; his dream for me was to be a school teacher, which I realized);
• Courage from both which goes along with above;
• Doing the best for my child, with the best of what I have and know from both (of course making mistakes along the way);
• Love of family from both. 

I can, and will, keep going and growing this list. 

Family, what are you thankful for?  Look beyond your pain and look to your pain.  You may just find that gift that is staring you in the face.  Face it.  Learn from it.  Turn it around.   Put it to use.

I am thankful for you.

A work in progress