Mi on a journey wid mi pen
carving out mi identity
trying to find out - who is me?
De English language is mi weapon
de standard dat pushes doors open
Mi caant believe it for true.
Mi caant use dis mismatch lingo stew
wid meaning for
mi feeling.
Da diction don't stretch
caant reflect
mi rich ancestry
from many country.
Mi want de vocab
to cut tru' de lies
wid razor sharp syntax
dat wrap up de domination
and fling it back
wid determination
Mi want de power
to control de final hour
when mi get recognition
for mi unique creation.
Born in Bradford, to a Trinidadian father and mother of Ghanaian descent, Sheree Mack is in her early thirties, married with a 7 year old son. After teaching English for seven years in various places around the country, she decided to hang up her red pen and register and devote all her time to writing. She is the creator and coordinator of identity on tyne, the only group in the North East providing a space exclusively for writers of colour. She's a poet at heart. She is currently completing her PhD at the University of Newcastle upon-Tyne, focusing on black British women poets and her own collection Family Album.
Follow the link for a list of other Poems of the Month.
Sharp Talking © 2006 Sheree Mack: used with permission.
Copyright of this poem remains with the poet: please do not download or republish without permission.
Photograph © 2005 Roger Cornwell.
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This page last updated 26th February 2006