Poems

Miss Understood

She doesn’t need to do anything strange or bad to be misunderstood.

She just needs to be her authentic self in the neighborhood.

She smiles beautifully and they say, she is faking it.

She shines brightly and they ask how comes she is making it?

Miss Understood is often misunderstood for the wrong things.

She laughs heartily and they say she is being extra.

She dresses with a creative and elegant flair and they say she acts like she is a fashionista.

She walks with grace and poise and they say she acts like a runway model.

She speaks eloquently and they say she is stoosh and speaky spokey.

She preaches the word of God and encourages people to read the bible and pray and they say she is self-righteous.

She is kind to those around her and they say she is too nice to be real.

She is confident and outgoing and they say she is too show off and nuff.

She gets quiet and reserved at times and they say she is acting like she is better than anyone else.

She speaks up for her rights and they say that she is too outspoken and assertive.

She enters the room with a lot of positive energy and they say she is too intense.

Miss Understood is often misunderstood for the wrong things.

She understands however that it is not her fault that she is being misunderstood.

People will understand and overstand who they want to understand and overstand.

Miss Understood decides to upgrade her car and move to an upscale neighborhood and they say she get rich and switch.

Miss Understood is selective about who she buys gifts and spends time with and they say she is spiteful.

She sets her boundaries and they say she is unforgiving, discriminating and full of herself.

She gets promoted and they say she is acting like she is all that.

She pulls back from negative people and toxic situations and they say she has changed.

She wears her bikini to the beach and they say she is seeking attention.

Miss Understood is often misunderstood for the wrong things.

She puts on a little weight and they say she is overeating.

She loses a little weight and they say she starving herself.

She does her own thing and doesn’t follow the crowd and they say she is radical and rebellious.

So, there is no need to explain to anyone who she is because she is Miss Understood.

If she has to explain who she is to people, it means that those people are not her people.

In the right environment and to the right people misunderstood is perfectly understood.

In the right environment and with the right people misunderstood is not misunderstood.

With the right people she is like a superstar in Hollywood and leader of the sisterhood.

With the right people she is loved for being her authentic self in her neighborhood.

With the right people, Miss Understood is never misunderstood.

– Erika Heslop Martin

----------

The Thief and the Turnips

Bravely, the thief walks on the farm. He watches his steps as he looks eagerly at the field of turnips.

He took a straw bag from beneath his waist, which held a short machete inside it.

He began reaping and cutting off stems until he had at least 12 dozen of them.

The criminal was on now!

Hurry, as it was his job that he had to attend, or he called it his personal duty.

He began placing one after the next into his bag while humming a song and giving a small nod.

The thief hastily began to lift up the straw bag when he was suddenly caught in a tight grip.

It was the owner of the farm, Mr. Brown, who was well respected and honoured around the town.

He tried to escape with the vegetables because he knew that, if he were able, it would have been inevitable.

The thief had to run with his short machete, while leaving the straw bag full of turnips behind.

The thief and the turnips remind us of the discovery of Jamaica and the battles we fought under different leaders.

– Kevaughn Allen