Rhythms of Life: A Collection of Poems

By Neil Primus

All the poems and verses in my manuscript are original work. They traverse time such as can be seen in pieces like Creation, Slavery and Nightmare 2001. Many explore present day realities and touch on areas that affect me and
especially my country. Poems like Hard Times, Fire De IMF, Black Out, Wata Woes and No Way Venezuela, No Way! Fall under this category. Readers will find some of my strongest sentiments in poems about Guyana. Pieces like
Thought for You, The Beauty of My Land, Moods of My Land, When, Why Us? are fi lled with emotions of anger, frustration, patriotism, love and loyalty. Whether criticizing or praising, when the topic is about Guyana all my senses are heighten. A number of my poems have a religious grounding because this is a vital part of my journey. Never Despair, Bible Brothers, A Smile, Life and Coconut Life, show that there is a Creator Being. A few poems deal
with Christmas but only that which is experienced by Caribbean people. One cannot write without dealing with our rich culture and folk lore. Me Betty, & Is Time are two such pieces. The very short pieces life Nightmare 2001, Sad Times, My Parrot and Beauty still convey a strong message. Humour has
been used once it does not distract from the focus of the poem. One example of this is Hard Times a fi tting tribute to the late Louis Bennett of Jamaica. The poems have been written over a period of many years and were compiled after some encouragement from friends and family.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 22, 2011
• ISBN: 9781453539583

Book preview

MY PARROT

I have a little parrot,

Who loves coffee and bread?

I don’t think there is anything,

This parrot hasn’t said.

It laughs a lot at visitors,

And pecks you in the head.

It laughed and pecked a friend of mine,

Now my parrot is dead.

Written by: Neil Primus

NIGHTMARE 2001

I went into the bank one day,

The clerk head was in disarray.

I said to her, Your head looks wild!

She frowned and said, This is the style!

I looked around the bank and found,

This epidemic all around.

The men heads looked like salad dishes,

The women heads looked like old witches.

I turned and ran to get a cop,

And at that moment I woke up.

Written by: Neil Primus

BEAUTY

True beauty I truly admire,

Raw beauty sets my heart on fire.

I saw this beauty pass one day,

And thought in an incredulous way.

Her blue jeans were a mystery one.

How did she get the damn thing on?

She looked a trifle overweight,

But her body was the figure eight.

There was no wrinkle or crease in it.

She must have used some type of magic.

Written by: Neil Primus

A SMILE

It changes sadness into joy,

It makes the heart feel light.

Your face light up, you feel so new,

Your future looks so bright.

Sometimes you smile and grin a lot,

And others think you’re happy.

While all the time you’re feeling blue,

Is this the way to be?

Smiles are natural gifts from God:

They’re gifts to use and share.

It changes other people lives,

It shows them that we care.

Written by: Neil Primus.

LIFE

God moulded the universe.

The sun, moon and stars made their appearance.

Wisdom emerged.

Creation belched forth life, love, forgiveness and understanding.

Living spawned hate, disrespect and death.

Death dragged along murders, accidents, suicide and illness.

Man brought woman and she delivered children.

Children taught love to us and peace to all mankind.

Written by: Neil Primus.

THE CAT AND MOUSE GAME

The Tomcat sat down lazily upon the kitchen floor,

But his eyes stared up unwaveringly upon the pantry door.

Three little mice after eating their fill, decide to return to their hole.

The first one never saw he cat, poor thing, God rest its