EXCERPT FROM RHYTHMS (TO EKB: IN RESPONSE TO YOUR CONCERNED QUERY "WHAT RHYTHMS WILL WRITERS USE NOW?")

Nailah Folami Imoja


VI

roaring seas of cane rows
whisper shouted echoes of Harding's reign
are
replaced by the chaotic clatter of houses
heights and terraces

children bewitched 
by the 
deadzonedrone
of cartoons
video games
other modern babysitters

daddy outside
slapping tepid soapy water
on the fully-loaded family wagon
one ear glued to the state of the art
this/service/has/been/temporarily/disconnected/—
due to non-payment—
cell-phone
other to the malevolent tick
of the cutting
edge
cd player
not knowing it dun brek 
an' soon to be vex
cos it en' even pay fuh yet

mothers
wives
and businesswomen
push frozen dinners in the oven
balancing business
at the board
meeting
banging
pans in the cupboard
and KFC or Chefette—
got the children 
believing
it's the national dish—
on the counter

but we are here

 

• Nailah Folami Imoja is a Barbadian/British writer. A teacher by day, she has been published in numerous anthologies and is the author of several novellas. These include titles from her Romance Series—Caribbean Passion. One of these short novels, Pick of the Crop (2004), was published by Heinemann. Her greatest opus thus far is her daughter.