Skip to main content

Just 14




Can someone tell me why my friend had to die?

Just 14 and I have to watch his mothers eyes run dry
My friend wanted to be the fastest track star
Only God knows how much more I miss him as each day goes by
When the sun goes down my heart beats faster
The fear in my eyes now permanent as the gunshots come closer as I walk by
Such beauty in my country but the ugliness is always near by

You tell me to sit still and make learning my priority 
The window shakes and our screams get louder and louder
Our books fall off our tables as our education is left behind just for a while
I'm just 14 but I've seen so many around me die 
Dead bodies have become the norm and it no longer makes me cry
This is the reality on my sweet little island

They tell me to make my future my priority 
But is there a promise of even a tomorrow?
The gunshots increase and I see my teacher calling out for us to leave
Four bodies on the ground, lifeless with no soul
Promises of bright futures now buried and I hear my teacher say gone too soon

Will a change ever come?
A day passes and we forget about it just a little bit
A next day comes and once again we hear about the guns
Plans are made in offices about what can be done
Yet I stand on the street corners and watch men run by with their guns
I'm just 14 but my aunt has already buried four sons
Each and everyone of them taken out by the gun
Police man, gunman they all show the power of the gun
Fear bubbles within me as I'm just a 14 year old young man
What could my friend have done?
To die innocently at the hands of the gun

Comments

Donate

Popular posts from this blog

The Young are being murdered

The death of the young By:©Saccheen Laing I put on my uniform Armed with books I set out in search of a good education. Streets lined with the blood stains of those who fell on the way  I'm determined to live to see another day But I have no control over those who believe they can have their own way. Armed with guns and knives  They attack me, They assault me, They abuse me , Because they believe they have control over me Because of guns and knives in hand. In my hands I write my plans A singer, an actor, a doctor, a fashion designer or a police man  I clench my fist as my blood runs to join those who fell before  My plans remain in my hands Never to be realized I am young but that means nothing on this land. The blood of the young will replace the ocean that surrounds and beautifies the land How many more shall die before you answer when I ask why? My mother shall cry and bury her son before he becomes a man My brot...

Loving a black man that doesn't love me

Image source: Google Images His beautiful dark skin made rich from the earth, his physical strength supporting where I am physically weak, his beautiful smile and then the depth of his speech. In a world where the wrongs that he has done is spoken about more frequently than what is good about him. I see the beauty in black unions,I see the beauty in black souls connecting, I see beauty in being by his side. The issue is, he no longer sees beauty in me. We walk paths these days paved with the broken connections. Couples who once professed to be so deeply in love now pretend to not know each other. We walk paths  where you can pour the purest of love into the vessel of a man/woman and they remain empty. On one side, we have black men who believe that black women have lost their worth. They have lost the meaning of what it means to be a Queen. The black man believes that the black woman has wrapped herself in the labels that society has placed on her. The black woman is ofte...

Reimagining the Big Screen: How Palace Amusement Can Level Up the Jamaican Movie Experience

  As a Digital Marketer in Jamaica, how would I revamp Palace Amusement? Here are some of my ideas: 1. The History of Palace Amusement - Create a campaign highlighting where the company is coming from, where it is now, and where it will be. Speak to grandparents who visited at the start, and have each group share their experience. Tie these experiences in with a film of the time.  2. The Love of Palace – Many couples have had their first dates at the movies, sparking relationships that blossomed into marriages and lifelong love stories. This campaign will highlight some of these real-life romances using a black-and-white aesthetic to evoke nostalgia and emotional connection in a visually captivating TV commercial, which will also be promoted across digital platforms. The campaign will culminate in an in-person event where couples with similar love stories will be invited to a special screening of the romance movie currently showing. Brands will be invited to partner in creati...