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all photos by gillena cox

 One Uni Verse

The mighty sun worships Dry Season;

And at its height is the Carnival;

That time of year, that season that sphere,

When music is king, queen and clown.

So the masqueraders spend elaborate sums

On hair, nails, foot gear, sequins;

 Colour is curator; 

All the razzle and dazzle to overwhelm in the streets,

 To tantalize, to dazzle, to mesmerize;

And the spectators, no costume needed;

What do they do?

They dance like the music says to,

Like the masqueraders do,

And for two days the streets are

One uni verse of the dance.

© gillena cox 2024

BLOG HOPPING TODAY WITH

Poetics: May I Have This Dance?

ENJOYTHE MUSIC

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#digitalart ©gillenacox composed@picsart

 PAPA BOIS: A PREQUEL

He was a boy, 

just a little trini boy

Like any other boy

Pitching marble

Hoarding marble

Swapping marble

Till one day

Oh what a day

A memorable day

He wandered into the forest

The thick dense forest

Spirit and tree filled forest

He was never seen again

No one heard his voice again

His friends looked for him again and again

Till years [after]

Friends who became hunters [after]

Sometimes swore they saw [after]

A familiar face flash by

A face aged now, but with horns

A face older than the hills.

© gillena cox 2024 

[Papa Bois image from google]

##Papa Bois, a French patois word for "father wood" or "father of the forest" is a popular fictional  character in Trinidad and Tobago folklore  

He is the protector of the plants and the animals in the forests. He is half animal and half human. The lower half of his body is of a goat and the upper part of his body (his head, chest, and arms) is like a man's except that he has two horns coming out of his forehead.

BLOG HOPPING TODAY WITH

. . . and what were you like before . . .

The prompt; to write about a fiction character before they became who they are [i edited to add: the story / poem is my imagination of what Papa Bois was before he became the mythical character we now know him to be] as the prompt asked... You’re simply being asked to think about the possible background of a famous character or mythological figure and write a poem showing a different side to them...

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 Sorting Out The Sky

A pinch of morning,

Now with dawn setting,

Sliver of silver,

Radiance giver.

Oh sky! what summons you

To tease at us so?

 Feathered harbingers,

Noisy bringers,

Of new occurences;

Are sure to find references,

In measure of man's mind,

Who isn't always kind.

gillenacox2024

BLOG HOPPING TODAY WITH

Quadrille #193: Poems in a Pinch 

The prompt word is pinch

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 LISTEN

This is what i hope to read at the live meeting on Saturday 20th January 2024  

 If you want to read it at the blog GO HERE

BLOG HOPPING TODAY WITH

OLN 354 + a little live

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old photos from my archives

Sample and Tease: City of Port of Spain

City of Port of Spain;

Rich in history, protest, and monument.

Preserves till today;

A people loving peace,

But loving more justice.

Old quays and cathedrals are welcoming.

Standing tall, The Red House,

Seat of political decision.

Woodford Square, echoing voices

Of change and belief.

Memorial Park, where wreaths draw in, the heroes who died, so we could be, the city today.

Parade of Carnival bands claim The Queens Park Savannah, the largest roundabout in the island; 

 Poui in pinks and yellows burst into blossoming, even out-glamouring The Royal Botanic Gardens. 

Not forgetting The Emporer Valley Zoo, named for the emporer butterfly.

The pulse of City of Port of Spain; is vibrant and varied. This is just a sample and tease

©gillenacox2024

Poetics: City love

It's The Season of Carnival Here in Trinidad &Tobago

ENJOY THE MUSIC 

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A Snippet of Three Cities

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Cooked with rice and meat called pelau, or stewed alone, 

Pigeon Peas is a traditional Carnival Season food in Trinidad and Tobago;  grown in home gardens and farms.

Read more HERE

BLOG HOPPING TODAY WITH

WITH

Mosaic Monday#66

AND

 dVerse — Prosery — January 15 

using a line from

Dudley Randall, Ballad of Birmingham

To The Movies

I guess it was one of those morning where you looked to the paper boy; calling out in the street, the urgency to buy news in print their goal. This early morning scene always made her smile and shake her head. Oh but that morning in particular;

oh but that smile was the last smile

to come upon her face,  for soon after she would have gotten the news of a ship built to last, then sunken; carrying down so many hopes dreams and connections.

And many many years later. The movies would made the day come alive once more.

 ©gillenacox2024

REVISIT TO READ

Monday WRites 425

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THIS IS MONDAY WRITES 426

 Happy NEW YEAR 

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