A Souvenir of Antigua in Poetry

By Sislyn Peters

A Souvenir of Antigua in Poetry reflects the author’s fond memories of life on the island. On its own, the book persuades the reader to pause, with profound questions to self, and encourages empathy, as the reader experiences a deliciously emotional journey. A Souvenir of Antigua in Poetry is filled with sparkling gems. They range from poems with musical cadence, as in “Potpourri Music;” to the nostalgic, as in “The Song in the Marketplace” and “Ottos School, Then” that depict a time and culture. Reading A Souvenir of Antigua in Poetry is a special poetically edifying experience!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 13, 2006
• ISBN: 9781467070508

Sislyn Peters

Sislyn Peters was born in St. John’s, Antigua, then British West Indies, and attended the Ebenezer Methodist Church, and Sunday school.  She is a graduate of Princess Margaret High School.  As a child, she wrote verses, and short stories.  As a teenager, she sang with local bands, including Pat Edwards’ Playboys, and Vere Anthony’s Teen Stars, and is also a playwright.  One of her plays, Trust, was adapted by the City College of New York’s English Department, Division of Humanities & Arts, and performed at the Aaron Davis Hall, in 2001.  Sislyn Peters has been referred to as gifted, and a deep thinker.  Her public literary voice lay dormant for all these years, waiting to burst forth.  It finally has.

Book preview

A Souvenir of Antigua

in Poetry

Unedited and Self-Published

Sislyn Peters

Illustrations by

Michael Christopher

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Please visit AuthorHouse at www.authorhouse.com.

Copies of

A SOUVENIR OF ANTIGUA IN POETRY

can also be purchased from

wherever books are sold.

Copyright © 2021 by Sislyn Peters. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored

or transmitted without the written permission of the author.

The Dove and Runaway Beach

are copyrighted and printed with permission from Cherisse Constant.

For contact or special permissions, please write to Sislyn Peters at

[e-mail]

Published by AuthorHouse 02/16/2022

ISBN: 978-1-4259-0782-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4259-0783-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4670-7050-8 (e)

AuthorHouse™

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Cover design by Sislyn Peters.

for good teachers, everywhere.

Art Tickles

To the Visitor

About Us

You Are Here

Carvings Profound

Shirley Heights

The Flamboyant Tree

Carnival

Antigua

Red, Yellow, Blue-Black-White

The Earl of Wynter*

Sir Vivian Richards

Pat Edwards

Knotty Hair

Sunday School ’60

God’s Promise

Lastly Shall Be Firstly

Fantasy

String of Cobweb

Radical Mind Surgery

I’ve Drawn a Blank

That Ole Tambran Tree in Bethesda

Bryson’s Punch

Love Your Country

SHADES OF A COLONIALCOLOURED

1st Battalion Caribbean Regiment

Children of the Colony

I’ve lost My Tongue

Everyday Living

The Pain

CUSTOMS

The Song in the Marketplace

Ottos School, Then

Going for Water

Changing Times

Home is Where the Heart is

See if the Fowls’ With Egg

The Licker Man

The Tin Smith is Coming

A Good Barkin’

Flake-o Time

Dear Fish

John Bull

Limbo Dancer

Brother B’s Was the Place

Sailing Week

NATURE

Rain

The Stars

The Clouds

Hurricanes

Time and Place Intersection

I, Hermaphrodite

In This World

CONFIDENCE

King Sarcasian

Virtue

Self Esteem

The Future

Keep an Open Mind

Affirmation

An Inner Strength

Appreciation

Exercise

Applaud Your Local Entertainers

Their Father

On Her Own

Allow Me

WHATEVER

Vanity

The Challenge

Purple Play

Hair I Am

Ode to a Pervert

Potpourri Music

Bad Model

Lost Love

FAMILY

Stamped on a Child’s Memory

Mamma, Where Did Granny Go?

The Blessing of Children

One Man Country

For (Aunt Maizie) Helinda Nicholas Williams

CONTRIBUTIONS

The Dove

Runaway Beach

Antigua Sister

TRIBUTE

Skefington McKenzie Peters

GAMES WE USED TO PLAY

sammy plant some corn

fungie, salt fish, and fat

acka backa

handclapping game

i went to town

ring game (green guavas)

mama make you’ johnny cake

dirt game (john pee pee)

my mother and your mother

there’s a black girl in the ring

da farma ring da bell (the farmer in the dell)

little sally water

tinty tinty

london bridge

lamoshay

COME BACK, AGAIN

When You Leave This Island

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

To the Visitor

Welcome to Antigua!

Hope you’ll enjoy your stay.

Did you come to our Antigua

To do business, or to play?

Or could it be that we are wrong?

Perhaps you came to rest.

If that is so, this is the place

You’ll find the very best

Of both worlds; peace and quiet

Or action, day and night.

Whatever you look forward to

We hope you’ll do it right.

Remember, do the right thing

That will uplift us all.

We’ll do the right thing by you;

Respect is mutual.

A safe and sound vacation

Is what we wish for you.

Kick back, relax, the pleasure’s ours

Do all that you can do.

About Us

Our streets are narrow,

Our minds are big,

Our island is small,

Our travels: far and wide,

Our beginnings are humble,

Our beauty is rare.

We’re pleased you have chosen

To come over here.

You Are Here

Where the sunshine radiates a little more heat

Where the pineapples taste especially