Pierrot – Mardi Gras
Artwork by Shallon Fadlien. Image courtesy of the artist
Filthy feathers, that painted shoe, trampled headpiece, etcetera
choking drains down the route,
street-light blinking out, stale roti
baddening the guts, your eyes sharp for midnight bandit
or coke jumbie looking to make ole mas
with the unwary —
you clown prince, you celebratory idiot
you forget she was Coolie Devil original,
Jab-Jab Mistress, maker of scourges?
Socialite — Ash Wednesday
Artwork by Shallon Fadlien. Image courtesy of the artist
God, to be outta this talk-show bakanal
these infernal cycles of mamaguy kaiso politricks
perpetual, shameless, cell-phone scandals
and all else; man gone cold in Toronto
landlord looking for his portion,
me sleeping with my fantasies —
in the penitential procession
the priest and his boys washing
you, beloved masquerader, in their platter of ashes.
Masque — Good Friday
Artwork by Shallon Fadlien. Image courtesy of the artist
We know the triumphant end of that old scenario:
disembowelled shroud, vacant catacomb
incredible gossip of love-struck women
whose eyes and hands and arms
encompassed the impossible incarnate eternal,
the risen God —
the empty mask, inanimate
signature of death’s humanity
crosses to centre stage before that tremendous denouement.
~ John Robert Lee
John Robert Lee is a writer of prose, poetry, journalism; a librarian; and a former radio and television broadcaster. His latest publications are ‘elemental: new and selected poems, 1975-2007’ ( Peepal Tree Press, 2008), ‘Sighting and other poems of faith’ (Mahanaim, 2013), ‘Bibliography of St. Lucian Creative writing: 1948-2013’ (Mahanaim, 2013), and ‘City remembrances: Poems’ (Mahanaim, 2016) . His bibliography of Caribbean literature is available here.
