'Geriau Windrush Words': Reflections in Poetry and Writing
'Geriau' is Welsh for 'Words'.
Welcome to this website which we have created to support better understanding about 'Windrush' and the stories of the many who made Wales their home away from home.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far,
and we would love to include the poetry and writing of others.
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Dreaming of home: 'Retirement: Homeward Voyage'
A time now fi mi go back home,
Dis place too cold fi I;
De price fi dis so called prosperity
Is rather way too high!
All dese years mi toil an’ sweat
In sleet an’ snow an’ damp;
Mi whole body freeze de way it cold,
Dung to mi eyelash cramp.
Still, a dat I haffi do
Fi keep me an mi family afloat
An’ provide a better standard o’ living
An’ hender hungry from cut we throat.
We a celebrate seventy years now
Since de time we come here first
An’ a flood o’ inhospitality wash we
Like a wave wha’ jus’ burst.
No Blacks. No dogs. No Irish.
A so de rent sign dem sey— Any which part yuh come from
Yuh better try go back dey.
We bear it out, we don’t complain,
We tough and tek de chill; For we come fi try fi better weself
An’ fi work an’ help dem buil’.
But after all dese years, when me tink— Was it really worth de strife?
De time me a try build up fi dem land,
Me nuh shoulda stay home and try mek life?
Me nuh shoulda strive fi boost mi owna land
An’ mek fi wi jewel shine
Fo’ Jamaica will always be mi home
It will never not be mine.
But, no time to live in regret
What’s done is done and gawn;
De nex’ generation might mek a change
By de time dem come an’ born.
Yes, seventy years since we first set sail
Aboard the SS Windrush Empire An afta all dis time—seventy years!
We can’t believe say mi still da yah.
De bes’ ting now is fe de I to trod back home
To de sun I dearly miss
To enjoy in my retirement Jamaica and its bliss.
Joy Roxborough 2019 JCDC Award Winner
THE 'GERIAU WINDRUSH WORDS' PROJECT IS MANAGED BY LEARNING LINKS INTERNATIONAL
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NORTH WALES JAMAICA SOCIETY AND SENYACUM, JAMAICA
