i
say goodbye to one more worn-out year
it takes its tired way off the old stage
there's nothing left my sadness to assuage
a future comes with more than normal care
to challenge me and force me yet to dare
accept the perils that confront my age
discreetly as i can and still engage
with renewed wisdom and not without fear
so much depends on listening to pain
and knowing just what signals to ignore
but paying due attention to the sign
that stands out clearly even through the rain
reminding us just how close lies the shore
and what the price of every glass of wine
all good flows into
silence and the past echoes of what we had not ever known so much of what we feared but not alone
for what we saw was powerful and vast coming from where no wind had touched or blown all good flows into silence and the past
what we don't know is how long it will last and what is written in the halls of stone regarding which we might yet have to moan all good flows into silence and the past
so
many pains and then you hit the wall
you won't expect the mountain to be there
when all you need is in the village square
it does not seem a hurtful height to fall
but all is magnified in this grey air
so many pains and then you hit the wall
inside each soul there is a solid ball
of honour and of treasure for our care
but not enough for each of us to spare
so many pains and then you hit the wall
Sherwood Content
in Trelawny and Waterhouse in St Andrew are about as far away as you can get
from the big-time. The roads leading to both places are pitted, potholed
disasters, and streetlights and other public amenities are singularly lacking,
the schools ramshackle excuses for educational institutions held together by
love and the dedication of poor people.
Yet over the last
few days children from these and similar communities have, half a world away,
basked in the adulation of more people than they have ever seen in their lives.
They have all managed to defy the considerable odds against them, and arebecome international heroes; young men and
women whose achievements have confounded, excited, astonished and enchanted
billions of others round the world.
Their stories are
all different, and although many of them will ascribe their presence on the
Olympicpodiumto the care and attention of teachers,
coaches and sponsors, their stories are in realitytributes to their own individual selves, to
their ability to outperform their fellows, to convert lucky breaks into
concrete opportunities and to deliver the goods before any audience, anywhere,
any time. The Jamaican Olympic team as I write on Thursday, has not completed
its agenda but it has already done better than any previous team from this
country and better than teams from countries with much larger populations and
resources.
In Track &
Field, on Thursday afternoon, Jamaica and Russia were tied with five gold
medals each, the US had four , Kenya and Ethiopia had two each. In the total
number of medals won in track and field, Jamaica with 9 was third behind the US
20 and Russia 10 and ahead of all other
countries.
Herb McKenley:
Thou should’st be alive at this Hour!
What is most
interesting to me is that the more level the playing field, the more dope
testing is done, the better Jamaica does. The ‘natural mystic’ is powerful
indeed and does not depend on technological enhancements of the chemical kind.
The fact that
Jamaica has dine so well is disquieting to those who don’t know us and lots of
questions have been asked about our testing procedures. The short answer is
that our athletes are among the most thoroughlytested in the world.
Owen Slot, Chief
Sports Reporter of the Times, reported: “In Beijing, the unprecedented success
of the Jamaican track and field team has come to general attention. The IAAF
accordingly produced the following statistics: there are 22 elite Jamaicans and
they [each]have been tested out of
competition, on average, two or three times since January 1. Bolt has been
tested four times out of competition, three times in competition and six times since he arrived in Beijing.”(my
italics)
I believe that
the continual testing is probably what defeated Asafa Powell, who believes that
the taking of blood for tests weakened him. I believe Powell, like another
sporting genius, Lawrence Rowe, defeats himselfbefore he ever gets to the arena.
In Beijing, our
men and the women have performed above expectations, no doubt, powerfully
inspired by Usain Bolt’s performances. I loved Shelly Ann’s wide-eyed jumping
for joy in victory,Kerron’s steely
courage and determination, Veronica’s gracious majesty – I loved them all, the
medal winners and those who also ran . It was mindblowing to watch the women’s
100 meters, knowing what Bolt had done, and to realise that many of our young
champions had never been on such a stage before. Their bravery alone is worth
saluting; added to performancesthat did
their country prouder than we had any right to expect.
no
grim foreboding may hold back the sun
a cycle comes around to those who wait
you just have faith in what you have begun
there is a tale that many folk have spun
about the sword that hangs above the gate
no grim foreboding may hold back the sun
a serious tool that no one could outrun
creator of inevitable fate
you just have faith in what you have begun
this is no illness that the weak might shun
nor is there room here for fools to berate
no grim foreboding may hold back the sun
enough to know the first hard blow will stun
and greedy onlookers will desecrate
you just have faith in what you have begun
i send the message knowing you have won
beyond what's given us to love or hate
no grim foreboding may hold back the sun
you just have faith in what you have begun
we
spend long hours just waiting for the rain
noting the anguish of the groaning trees
there's not a thing we do that seems to please
none of our choices ever turns germane
or leads us to the path of rest and ease
we spend long hours just waiting for the rain
it does not help just turning up the gain
or ducking under walls to dodge the breeze
these are the ones that nothing could appease
we spend long hours just waiting for the rain
there
is no need to fear the open eye
it will not see what lies within each heart
but only what is made by normal art
this is the standard ordinary lie
that we accept by way of getting by
since each of us has got to play our part
to do our duty seem to give a fart
and then give everyone a plain goodbye
there are no honest signs of desperation
we simply wait for all good things to fade
while in the background there's a simple tone
appropriate to those in our dull station
with little left to show and less to trade
and all our blankness showing in the bone
we
miss the word that no one wants to hear
so much is urgent at the changing hour
just before dawn and our faces are dour
so many needs and so much we hold dear
our hearts must quail and we just have to cower
we miss the word that no one wants to hear
no one can see behind the sharp veneer
to all the swords that still sustain our power
instead they praise the fruit within the flower
we miss the word than no one wants to hear
you
ask for gifts that last longer than gold
not knowing how the clouds assemble fast
this is the way the story's always told
we seem so formal stiff and even cold
our hearts are given to the vanished past
you ask for gifts that last longer than gold
what you expect are souls ardent and bold
whose urgencies and wishes have to last
this is the way the story's always told
but those who have bad cards just have to fold
the noble outcome cannot be forecast
you ask for gifts that last longer than gold
it does no good to scream rebuke and scold
nor nail your tattered colours to the mast
this is the way the story's always told
only the wary live to become old
those who are foolish cannot take the blast
you ask for gifts that last longer than gold
this is the way the story's always told
each
is in turn a giver of good names
assigned to govern within lines of light
with eyes keen focused on the simple flames
it never does just to admit your aims
before the last bright bird has taken flight
each is in turn a giver of good names
we might have chosen to make larger claims
and kept our targets always in plain sight
with eyes keen focused on the simple flames
instead we set things out in complex frames
and made our object something of a rite
each is in turn a giver of good names
it's not enough to say we banish shames
and curses for we have not been forthright
with eyes keen focused on the simple flames
we turn our purposes into vain games
our chances of survival seem but slight
each is in turn a giver of good names
with eyes keen focused on the simple flames