WORDNEWS27

Beans Spilt Over Tea is a family poem, reflecting on the invaluable support you can get from a friend or family member.

Beans Spilt Over Tea

My aunt, dotty as she was, would sit me down on her crochet blanket covered couch, make a clean sweep of my lame pretexts from the kitchen where she was already brewing up fine tea. Childless, she treaded life in slippers not up to kick, her beady eye hell-bent on bringing to light unspilt beans and lining them up neatly over a cup of flavoursome leaf tea. On her couch, your guts would soon lay bare ready for soaking up and fixing up despite layers upon layers of clobber. Her quirksome footwear was matched by the transparent hands she’d send to craft fair strings of beans into choice jewellery for the road. Protestations and walls would tumble, my beans spill within moments, on my tongue, the taste of clear tea making its way to fixing my guts. She’d purchased colourful mohair wool to crochet the throws on the couch for idling, didn’t mind in the least if tea and beans stuck to the soft fibres. She still doesn’t.

Family Poem – Beans Spilt Over Tea

Paper Plane is a resilience poem, a description of how children can and do rise above tragedy, full of bravery, strength, and love.

Paper Plane

When Father died and Mother lay sick in bed, the child stepped up and made a paper plane, ready for take-off in minutes. But the howls of his little sister and his brother’s dirty diaper messed up the flight schedule.

Not to worry, he thought to himself, I’ll sort them out and bring them on board. Nappy changed and tears wiped, he cleared them through security, though soon halted by the guard’s x-ray glances. Too much hand luggage, he said, no knives permitted.

But Father died and Mother’s sick in bed, the child protested, handing over the banned items with a thick smile to keep his siblings reassured. At long last, they were ready for departure.

The paper plane’s jet engine drowned out Mother’s asthma attack during take-off. Up, up and away they flew beyond birds and clouds, weightless through thinning air, beams of light, and passing time.

When Mother’s pocket alarm shot down the paper plane, the child stepped up and phoned emergency services. You’re lucky, mom doesn’t need to go to the hospital, they said, prescribing potent medicine she’d have to swallow for years to come.

No one batted an eyelid when the child grew up to become a pilot, sure didn’t he bring his siblings on flights every day for years, they nodded to each other. Thank the Japanese for Origami, the child would always say.

Resilience Poem – Paper Plane

Common Ground is a peace poem, a reflection on conflict resolution and the absolute need to build on our shared humanity – first and foremost.

Common Ground

 digging up common ground and
magnifying similarities
break ground for 

sisterhood
brotherhood
solidarity
love

fencing in and
highlighting differences
choke out

sisterhood
brotherhood
solidarity
love