The POEM

Making Something out of Nothing

Bits and pieces, that’s what we had –

We could make something out of nothing…

anything anything

out of the bits and pieces.

Making a meal from leftovers, a masquerade from scraps, a musical instrument from an old oil drum.

We Caribbean people embrace Ananci as our natural response –

seeking the power to define … for ourselves.

Ananci, the spider-god who crossed the Atlantic with us from Africa,

creatively weaving tricks, using cunning for survival.

That’s what we’ve done, that’s what we do

that’s what we do

Making something out of nothing.

This kind of art is not about looking pretty or just about making a nice sound.

It’s about the inside coming out

doing it for ourselves, doing it for ourselves.

Empowerment,

claiming ownership

the power to choose to do or not do

to be our own narrator

honoring ourselves

protecting ourselves,

maintaining a self                                        

becoming who I am

becoming who you are

Bits and pieces, that’s what we had –           

We could make something out of nothing…

anything anything

out of the bits and pieces.

grandpa felt the rhythm when they hit him with the whip 

the smile behind the pain

the pain behind the smile

playing fool to catch the wise

layering

masking to reveal

dancing Dame Lorraine

exaggeration grotesque

excess excess excess

mimicking  the elite?

Yes, but so much more

the dance moves from the character to the play

a dance

from the inside from the inside

creating a space within

Bits and pieces, that’s what we had –

We could make something out of nothing…

Anything, anything

out of the bits and pieces.