RETENTIONS (A Tuk Verse Poem fuh Kamau)

Anthony Kellman


1
Fingers cap ’e head an’
den interweave
minus knowledge ah wuh it mean.

“Boy, wha’ wrong wid you? Some-
body in you flat
dead?” De neighbuh remain tuh chat.

2
One night wid Nolly1 on
de scene reborn:
fingers lock in a moaning dread.

He smile real long and slow,
suh glad tuh store
one more gem fuh de griot book.

1 Nollywood: Nigerian film industry.

Anthony Kellman is a writer, musician, Professor of Creative Writing, and the originator of the Barbadian poetic form Tuk Verse. His books include Limestone, Barbados's first published epic poem, and the novels The Coral Rooms (1994) and The Houses of Alphonso (2003). He is the recipient of a US National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and Barbados’ Prime Minister’s Award.