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Contests : Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest : Past Winners : 2006 : First Prize
INTIMIDATION
Intimidation by definition
can only mean separation
pits one against the other
encourages retribution
Mama Africa she lived the struggle
evaded shadow men witnessed Apartheid crumble
They confront the white policemen
demand to know why the boy
is being detained his arm wrenched
behind his back an angled decoy
He is not from here
smirks the cop
though his hand loosens its grip
there's no intention to stop
dark ladies step forward with looks of indignation
Mama Africa heard Freedom's song
to reconstruct the System reconcile the wrong
They contradict the boy
lives down the street ignore
inference he's not South Africa
born their eyes underscore
resolve to cease this interrogation
Stoic they stand near the squad car
witness fear drain from the boy's face
he cautiously grasps who the victors are
in this awkward altercation
Mama Africa weeps for her children
a vanquished generation lonely African orphan
The police concede release the boy
who upright stands a head taller
than the others rubs his reddened wrist
flexes assaulted arm adjusts his collar
distancing himself from this humiliation
As the cruiser pulls away he
bows his head in humble respect
Ngiyabonga thank you voice of refugee
in his eyes deep satisfaction
Mama Africa allied to the land
marches forever forward steadfast her stand
This poem won the 2006 Tom
Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest sponsored by Tom Howard Books. Author Debbie Camelin received a $1,000 award. Winning Writers assists this contest. Copyright is reserved to the author.
LOBSTERMAN
He sat there on his haunches for hours, perched on flat coastal rock
Long ago fashioned by Nature, black unforgiving surfaces known to claim
Credulous lives. Poised like a gull gussied up in red-plaid coverlet, he sat
Staring at the harbour, and remembered:
Rhythm of tides, ceaseless surge of sea against shore, clammy
Brine air. His bones a barometer, his redlined weathered
Face testimony to years of labour in chilling wind
And reflected ocean sunlight. Home in the sea but grounded to the land,
A hand-rolled cigarette dangled between tawny thumb
And forefinger, flicked away dying embers after he drew in its essence.
Sometimes on holiday I sat next to him and between long silences
And inhaled residue listened to grandfather recall years toiling
As a lobsterman. Traps hauled from icy depths, hand over hand, catch
Measured with a stick to ensure legal limits, releasing tinkers who escaped
Boiled pot, pegging claws shut on those that passed inspection to avoid
Agitated pinches. He watched in earnest as boats put out to sea, flat
Hulls laden with vinyl-coated wire traps, modern devices that withstand ocean
Forces and are easier to heave, transitioned from wooden but still fashioned
With decades-old design. Recalled years spent with one other in 13-foot dory
Manoeuvred by temperamental motor, tossed in Atlantic like vivid buoy.
Seamen who could smell a squall stirring, read sea and sky, yet were paper
Illiterate. Learned lobster was poor man's catch long before it garnered favour
With wealthy taste buds to be called delicacy. Sandwich meat children hid
From classmates' view to escape mark of poverty by feeding on fertilizer
For farmers' fields. Once when war raged on, divided spoils of torpedoed ship
Among family, casting nets to catch Red Cross tins that floated carefree
And provided sweets to those who rarely feasted on wrapped candy, chocolate,
Packaged cookies. Raised seven, six boys and a girl, only to mourn a trio's
Deaths, sons lost to their livelihood. Yes, grandfather mended lives along side
Traps, suppressed niggling thoughts of ironic taskmaster, the sea giveth
And the sea taketh away. Watched younger generation venture out to follow
In their fathers' wake, eager to replace pen with oar and paper with winch,
Comforted in knowledge that fishing is in their blood, despite a tired
And depleted industry. For days grandfather crouched in silence
Behind him a wood pile grew, logs split first out of necessity to stroke
The belly of a cast iron stove, then out of boredom to occupy idle hours.
This poem won a High Distinction award in the 2006 Tom Howard/John H. Reid Poetry Contest sponsored by Tom Howard Books. Winning Writers assists this contest. Copyright is reserved to the author.
About Debbie Camelin
Debbie Amirault Camelin lives in Ottawa, Ontario, with her husband and three children. She is an 8th generation Acadian with roots in Nova Scotia, Canada. For Debbie, a poem shines a light on a moment with intensity. Her poems shine a light on the people and places that resonate within her to tell a story through imagery and metaphor. The poem, "Intimidation", was inspired by a real-life event on a journey through South Africa in 2001—a dawning year following the end of Apartheid.
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