Wrinkles

Slowly but surely
They reveal the stories
Of love, anguish
And of the hilarious uncertainties
Of which people bump into

Mortals are seeking immortality
Some through the Divine promise
Others with vanity flair
So they skin and peel
Brush and stroke

The human anatomy
With moisturizing creams
And all kinds
Of powdered concoctions

The time travellers
With gravity pull
In cosmic action
Make their rounds
Into our homes
Uninvitingly they come
Redesigning the structure

These aliens
Weave on the skin of nerves and gore
Their tapestry of lines and curves
Transforming smiles into frowns

With clock-like dexterity and precision
They alter the mind inside

With wrinkles warping
Wasting what was
Wonderful wear
Of roses...withered, warped
We wished winkles would

Please go away!

These vampires

Shrouded with great mystery
They try to dash the hopes
Of medicine men in search
For some miracle and a cure

When wrinkles walking

All over body parts

are no more

© Paterika Hengreaves
July 2003/Barbados

Cou Cou Dish

Cou cou you sing our freedom songs
And okra says it's true;
Singing robyn, merci beaucoup
Surprise! No peek-a-boo.














True Bajans love the real cou cou
Served all year once a week;
Thursday is really cou cou day
Well done with real technique.

Corny mass floats on saucy sea
Molded well on the plate
And flying fish swimming its shores
Wingless yes! But sedate.




























Cou cou you sing our freedom songs
A wholesome dish so true;
Singing robyn, merci beaucoup
Surprise! No peek-a-boo.

A salisbury steak I'm not
Neither a duckanoo
When saucy river round me flows
You've got the real cou cou.















Cou Cou is our national dish
Gold and grey hug the maize;
Carved firmly with a buttered mold,
Served on ironing days;



















Cou cou you sing our freedom songs
A wholesome dish so true;
Singing robyn, merci beaucoup
Surprise! No peek-a-boo.

Our cou cou sings cool pop tunes
Loud and sweet from the chest
Flying high all around the globe
Rihanna tops the nest.

At all cost we make pepper sauce
With spices from the land
Foreign brands too we use in stew
With industry we stand.

Cou cou you sing our freedom songs
A wholesome dish so true;
Singing robyn, merci beaucoup
Surprise! No peek-a-boo.

©Paterika Hengreaves

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Bajan Conkies

When November comes to the door
Zesty conkies we share;
Sweet and mighty strong with essence;
A Bajan dish set square.

Pumpkin alone will never do;
Mix, corn, coconut fair,
With potato, sugar and spice;
Cook on square leaves with care.

Conkies wrapped in banana leaves
Do pass the plate with cheer,
To friends but satellites of none;
Great cheese-on-bread is there.

Stacked independently on plate
Conkies banana wear;
Housed in jacket uniquely ours
We stacked on table-wear;

Skilled fingers cut those leaves to strap
From stalk, with sharp hard-wear;
Laboring these souls toil each day,
In cane-fields near Foursquare;

Conkies wrapped in banana leaves
Do pass the plate with cheer,
To friends but satellites of none;
Great cheese-on-bread is there.

Now fifty years reached this nation
Standing tall with prayer;
A new Barbados to behold
Amid great strife elsewhere;

The Broken Trident hugs our shores
Flying here and elsewhere;
We give thanks to God Almighty
And share the earthenware.

Conkies wrapped in banana leaves
Do pass the plate with cheer,
To friends but satellites of none;
Great cheese-on-bread is there.

©Paterika Hengreaves