Coolieween
The names listed here are just a mere fragment of the lists upon lists of diasporic Indo-Caribbean women who have been injured, harmed, and murdered at the hands of heteropatriarchal power – whether that be in the form of their parents, community members, or even intimate partners.
Colour Me Black
Black child's mother says her ears gave it away
The hint of shame on an otherwise perfect face
Body Count
Because to me, it means nothing; it’s just a number
It gives me no validation nor brings me shame
Fam Constellation - Me Kali
Everyone has to thrive in order for the system itself to thrive, every display of hate is only an unexpressed need to feel valid.
Ouroboros
Through all layers and fits it slithered
Though still I scrambled to look decent
The Weight of my Feminity
Heavy is the weight of my femininity,
But a weight I will bare until a change has come
To the men in my area
I’m tired of writing about this
I’m tired of writing this
I’m tired of being handed material
I Am Woman.
I know my rights.
I know my strengths.
I know my history.
A Church Girl Gone Rogue
You said inside
I said no way
You said dolls
I said trucks.
Thriving
i flourish
like bougainvillea
that rustles in the breeze
outside my window
pink + plentiful
A SONG BY THE BEACH
The ocean quivers
Its heart is warm now
Its aim is as swift, and precise as a tall bird
NOT TO HAVE
A nation to be built
A noble lion as the head
And a graceful lioness
THISTLE
Your nose need not be pinched
For you were made with straight lines
Your beauty is standard
LAUREL WREATHS
As for the little women, their time was up
This day was for the next generation to keep
And lock it away within their memories
DRESSES IN THE CLOSET
I never thought I’d use you
Waiting intentions not placed on you
Your beauty is now utilized
PEARLS TO REMEMBER
Remember, you reap what you sew
You shall be given vineyards you did not plant,
Houses you did not build
VELVETS IN THE FIELD
What they call self-care today
It is we who showed you the way
Big Brains > Big Ass
My body is also a topic of conversation when I walk into a room. Family members and friends all feel the need to tell jokes about my body.
Naima
She would not allow the creeping doubts from the previous months to dampen her spirit. Not while she had the rum in her system. She bobbed and weaved to make her feathers dance some more and so the stage lights could pick up the glitter on her skin
The hostility between Afro and Indo Caribbean Women may be about Featurism not Colourism
The Caribbean has a long history of multiculturalism due to the migration that occurred voluntarily and by force. This history includes the division of Afro Caribbean and Indo Caribbean people, predominantly in Guyana, Jamaica, Grenada and Trinidad & Tobago. The same system that was held in the United States, separating house slaves from field slaves based on their shade of brown was also implemented in the Caribbean between the Indians and the Africans.