THE ANGELS WARN By Balwant Bhagwandin (Excerpt from "I Hear Guyana Cry")

...the angels turn away

shamed by sight

of a people who would

make martyr of murderer

and common criminals

liberators

and declare the drug dealer absolved

by the 4Runners and foot-runners he owns

and the money he has to burn

celebrate the success of crime

the triumph of lies and liars

the downfall of honest endeavors

and men as moronic

for being sincere

and determine how full of fun

their day of demonstration is

by how many

muggings and maulings are executed

and women are molested downtown

and the number of workplaces shut down

and stores pillaged

and burnt down by fires lit

by a madman with a vision one-tracked

to the throne

who mock the messages

of Mahatma and Mandela

murder the messengers

of reconciliation

and giggle and jump-up

happy as a herd of swine

wallowing in its own excrement

as the tempo

of the drums of war grow

towards frenzy

and whisper

as if prayer:

Harken ye the words

of your children:

Walter, the most brilliant and humble,

betrayed and blown to bits

for his caution:

together cling

all you wretched and abused

with hands and hearts entwined and grounded

that they not be made to bear guns

to make this a no-man’s land!

Recall the laments

of your son Martin

and his disillusion and pain:

‘So jail me quickly, clang the illiterate door

if freedom writes no happier alphabet.’

and his admonition

like that of Donne

timeless and good for all men:

‘…all are involved!

all are consumed!’

and give heed

though late

so late

lest this your ‘nation’

self-styled and so-called

though sundered

and already splintered like wood for fire

indeed becomes the fuel

for a terminal conflagration

of its children’s creation!

Guyana Short Stories - Massacuraman, Ah so we come!

Massacuraman, Ah so we come!
Massacuraman, Ah so we come! / Ah wha we comfa / Ah wha we stanfa / Ah wha we look like / Ah so we com!

We pound de fofoo / Drink fofoo water / Eat dry coconut / Add steel drops / Drink coconut water

Massacuraman, Ah so we come! / Ah wha we comfa / Ah wha we stanfa / Ah wha we look like / Ah so we com!

Naked 'pon concrete / Shackled together / Slaves together!

Massacuraman, Ah so we come! / Ah wha we comfa / Ah wha we stanfa / Ah wha we look like / Ah so we com!

Bakku with guilders / Spanish e pesetas / British and de pound / Dem creole we language / But non can conquer! Massacuraman, Ah so we come! / Ah wha we comfa / Ah wha we stanfa / Ah wha we look like / Ah so we com!

Half-naked in de blazing sun / Leg-irons branding flesh / Pickaxe 'pon bricks / Bones cracking from stress /Psyches mangled together Massacuraman, Ah so we come! / Ah wha we comfa / Ah wha we stanfa / Ah wha we look like / Ah so we com!

Jumbie-lash and Black-lash / Gun, cutlass and Stick-lash / Cry Cuffy e Accra / Mek bakku run for cover Massacuraman, Ah so we come! / Ah wha we comfa / Ah wha we stanfa / Ah wha we look like / Ah so we com!

Guyana Short Stories - Nara Therapy fo' Dugla

Nara Therapy fo' Dugla
Doc, meh belly a hu't bad yo' know man!
Dugla, ah nara yo' got. Somebody bad-eye yo'?
Doc, ah t'ink it's a coolie jumbie.
Dugla boy, don' mek me buss out laughing now.
Me goin' 'noint yo' fo' nara.

Tek off yo' clothes and lie down 'pon de floor with yo' arms to yo' side, feet together and eyes to the ceiling.
Try to relax while ah get de rice, string, soft-grease and coc'nut oil to treat yo'.

Doc took a small handful of rice and wrapped it tightly with a piece of white cloth. He knotted the end of the cloth securely and applied some soft-grease to the tip to create a wick. Dugla stared down his nose as Doc placed the ball of rice on his belly button and then lit the wick with a match. Before the ball of rice could burn down to the knot, Doc would expertly complete the nara massage treatment.

Quickly lighting two sticks of incense, Doc started to measure Dugla's body for symmetry with a coarse piece of kite string. If Dugla's body contained any foreign jumbie or bakku, then it would be asymmetrical. His quivering lips reported the actions of this acquired Congo art: navel to left nipple - OK; navel to right nipple - OK; navel to left shoulder - OK; navel to right shoulder - OK; navel to left bigtoe - OK; navel to right bigtoe - OK. Doc then poured the warm coconut oil into the palms of his right hand and started to massage the nara from Dugla's belly. Doc worked swiftly, always moving from left to right as he placed his hands under Dugla's back then vigorously brought them together into a clasp just above the ball of rice. The nara massage would be followed by a drink of water from Doc's wooden bitter cup, which was carved out directly from a special herbal tree by the Amerindians. The massage and bitters would clear any belly-wuk or tummy pains that Dugla was suffering from. Doc completed the physical nara treatment by swiftly massaging Dugla's the neck, arms and then pulling all 10 fingers and toes until each made a cracking sound. Dugla's body was now flexible and certified road worthy and jumbie free.

As the soft-grease-coated wick burnt slowly and the room choked with the aromatic scent of agarbatti incense sticks, Dugla relaxed and Doc switched on the nara pyschotherapy, "So Dugla, ah wha' mek yo' t'ink it's a coolie jumbie?"

"Man Doc, ev'ryday ah just wan' to eat curry and roti. Recently, as soon as fowlcock crow, ah start daubing de bottom-house with fresh cowdung. But Doc, dat's nah all. Ah planted two jandie flags at de front gate and started praying to Krishna."

"Dugla boy, dat sounds like a bad coolie jumbie to me. When did it all start?"

Well, one day ah was walking down Sherrif Street when ah gave Baby, Harricharran's daughter, meh sweetboy whistle. Banna, de gyal gave me one cut-eye and suck-teet' and den flounced away. So ah took dat as hardcard, yo' know. A few days later dis small boy brings me a note from Baby to meet her in de alley behind her house at 10pm. So ah went to talk to her, but she was in no mood fo' long talk. Ah was confused bad when she said she's in love with me. Ah tried to reason with her about Harricharran, but de gyal had bad typee and pulled me down right dere in de alley. Now ev'ryday she's sending me chicken curry, channa, polowry, dall pouri and mittai. An' ev'ry night she waiting in de alley fo' me. Last night she tells me dat Harricharran knows 'bout me and dat he tek meh name to pandit Sharma in Delph Street. Further, she t'inks she's pregnant! Banna, a nearly shit mehself. Right dere and den meh belly-wuk started!"

"Dugla boy, yo' in big trouble now. Pandit Sharma ain't three cents, yo' know? I goin' rub you down with this asafetida to keep away the jandie spirits and bad-eye, but you must follow meh advice." "Dugla, marry Baby now and dig dutty before you end up a' backdam floating in de forty-feet trench."

Cowsila the Coolie Whore

(Based of the Guyanese Short story)

Perched cross-legged on the side of a broken down punt and admiring her reflection in the stagnant forty-feet trench, Cowsila, the coolie whore, smiled tantalisingly at the cane-cutters as they rushed home tired, sweaty and reeking of stale roti and fish curry. Cowsila had spent the earlier part of Friday cooking and daubing the bottom-house with fresh cow-dung. She then washed herself at the standpipe with carbolic soap and water from a galvanised zinc bucket. The water was cool and refreshing and came from the overhead vat that captured rainwater. Now she was ready for business. Long black hair gleaming with coconut oil that suffocated most of her head lice and nits, Cowsila smiled as she noticed Ramesh and Shivnarine eyeing up her voluptuous curves. She had worn her pink, body-hugging, bonded-knit dress because it was pay-day at the sugar estate and Cowsila had to provide for her lazy good-for-nothing man Rohit.
Rohit drank all day at the Indian Bull rum shop then he returned home to fill his belly with roti, squash curry and fried hassa fish. He had no idea where Cowsila got money or food from and just assumed that his wife either begged her family or friends for help. As soon as Rohit finished his food, he just sprawled out on the floor mat and slept.

Cowsila kept the mud hut tidy and cared for her man. She had a slate at Big Pi's grocery shop that could rival the country's national debt, so it was important for her to earn a living. Sometimes Big Pi would take payment in kind behind the jute bags of rice at the back of the shop. Big Pi was easy and pragmatic. In his own words, life was too short to worry. Sometimes he felt sorry for Cowsila and give her a small piece to buy fresh fruit and vegetables from the market.

Cowsila glanced down and noticed the tadpoles swimming at the bottom of the punt. It was the rainy season and the backdam was muddy. Little cock-a-belly fishes appeared in puddles along the dam and the croaking frogs, dogs barking and guinea fowls squealing sounded like a jam session at the jazz club. The hustle of the estate overseers, foremen, charge-hands and labourers heading back home jangling their cutlasses and metallic zinc carriers was dying off. Cowsila flinched as both head and crab lice recovered from temporary paralysis by carbolic fumes and began feeding on her blood. Long James went past on his bicycle as he shepherded his cows back home. Twilight was setting on the backdam and soon it would be dark enough for Cowsila to do business.

A few lady birds and candle flies buzzed by followed by the dreaded mosquitoes. Cowsila was just beginning to lose her patience when, like a zombie, Ramesh appeared from the side of the punt. Thank God, Cowsila muttered under her breath at the exact moment that Ramesh blurted out - how much? Hundred dollars, Cowsila replied. Banna that's a whole bottle-o-rum Ramesh thought for a second. Then he looked at Cowsila's charms and his blood boiled. Awright! Ramesh disappeared with Cowsila behind Sproston's punt to seal the deal.

Guyanese Limerics Medley "Small Days Medley"

Guyana Short Stories - Small Days Medley

Ole man pappy t'ief fowl egg / Goin' de shop an buy gil bread. Mosquito one Mosquito two / Mosquito jump in de ole man shoe / Tell Maria marry to Jacob just because he does walk an' shake up, walk an' shake up. Peter Rabbit eat fish alligator catch 'e / 'e catch alligator father eating rotten potatoes (spelling PREFACE).


Small Days is Still on Meh Mind

Small days is still on meh mind
Small days is a good good time
De neighbours got some little children
And when de singing and dancing
Ah does really admire dem!
And what de singing?
Children Children?
Yes Mama!
Where you been to?
Grandmama!
And what she give you?
Bread and cheese!
And where is mine?
On the shelf!
How can I get it?
Climb de chair!
And suppose I fall?
Me nah care!
Bad Picknie!
Me nah care!
Wicked Picknie!
Me nah care!

Small days is still on meh mind
Small days is a good good time
De neighbours got some little children
And when de singing and dancing
Ah does really admire dem!
And what de singing?

On your carpet
You must be
Like a roses
Sugar and tea
Bright and shining
You must be
And save those kisses for me!

Small days is still on meh mind
Small days is a good good time
De neighbours got some little children
And when de singing and dancing
Ah does really admire dem!
And what de singing?

There's a coloured girl in de ring tra la la la la.
There's a coloured girl in de ring tra la la la la.
There's a coloured girl in de ring tra la la la la.
For she likes sugar and I like plum.

So! Let me see yuh motion tra la la la la.
Oh let me see you motion, tra la la la la.
So! Let me see yuh motion tra la la la la.
For she likes sugar and I like plum.

There's a coloured girl in de ring tra la la la la.
There's a coloured girl in de ring tra la la la la.
There's a coloured girl in de ring tra la la la la.
For she likes sugar and I like plum.

Oh skip across the ocean, tra la la la la.
Oh skip across the ocean, tra la la la la.
For she likes sugar and I like plum.

Small days is still on meh mind
Small days is a good good time
De neighbours got some little children
And when de singing and dancing
Ah does really admire dem!
And what de singing?

Brown skin girl stay home and mind baby.
Brown skin girl stay home and mind baby.
I am going away in a sailing boat
And if ah don't come back
Trow 'way de dam baby!

Small days is still on meh mind
Small days is a good good time
De neighbours got some little children
And when de singing and dancing
Ah does really admire dem!
And what de singing?

Sly mongoose, dog know yuh name.
Sly mongoose, yuh ain't got no shame.
Mr. Mongoose walk in the white man's kitchen
Tief out one ah he big fat chicken
Put um inside he waistcoat pocket, sly mongoose.

Missy Gal, Missy Gal, Missy Gal, Missy Gal
Ah wha mek yuh brazen so?

Missy Gal, Missy Gal, Missy Gal, Missy Gal
Ah wha mek yuh brazen so?

Meh come from de country
Down to de town and dah mek meh brazen so!

Small days is still on meh mind
Small days is a good good time
De neighbours got some little children
And when de singing and dancing
Ah does really admire dem!
And what de singing?

O lard de bucket got a hole in de centre
And if yuh think a telling lie
Push yuh finger
O lard de bucket got a hole in de centre
And if yuh think a telling lie
Push yuh finger.

Small days is still on meh mind
Small days is a good good time
De neighbours got some little children
And when de singing and dancing
Ah does really admire dem!
And what de singing?

Miss Mary had some dry-head children, dry-head children
Miss Mary had some dry-head children, dry-head children
Black man sala pound masala!
Putegee bumba fart cucumber!
Coolie water rice, pork and spice
Wash yuh batie with dhal and rice!

Children stop playing and come inside now!
Girl! Boy! Go-lang home nuh
Before yuh mudder kill yuh!

Our Beliefs

Mary's Lamb

Think carefully about what you will be reading.

..Mary, had a little Lamb,

His fleece was white as snow.

And everywhere that Mary went,

The Lamb was sure to go.

He followed her to school each day,

T'wasn't even in the rule.

It made the children laugh and play,

To have The Lamb at school.

And then the rules all changed one day,

Illegal it became;

To bring The Lamb of God to school,

Or even speak His Name!

Every day got worse and worse,

And days turned into years.

Instead of hearing children laugh,

We heard gun shots and tears.

What must we do to stop the crime,

That's in our schools today?

Let's let The Lamb come back to school,

And teach our kids to pray!

It is said that 86% of American, Canadian, & British people believe in God. Why don't we just tell the other 14% to be quiet and sit down????

Our Burdens in Life

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised aglass of water and asked, 'How heavy is this glass of water? '

Answers called out ranged from 8oz. to 20oz.

The lecturer replied, 'The absolute weight doesn't matter. Itdepends on how long you try to hold it.''If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for anhour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'llhave to call an ambulance.''In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, theheavier it becomes.'

He continued, 'And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomesincreasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on.''As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while andrest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry onwith the burden.

''So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work/life down.Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow.''Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment ifyou can. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short.

Enjoy!

'And then he shared some ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

1* Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you'rethe statue.

2* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have toeat them.

3* Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in themiddle of it.

4* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by theirMaker.

5* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

6 * If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it wasprobably worth it.

7 * It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as awarning to others.

8* Never buy a car you can't push.

9* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because thenyou won't have a leg to stand on.

10* Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

11* Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleeplate.

12 * The second mouse gets the cheese.

13* When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

14* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer youlive.

15* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be theworld to one person.

16* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

17* We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some arepretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are differentcolors, but they all have to live in the same box.

18* A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on adetour.