SANDS IN MOTION

In quick motion they move as the waves come in
Sands that keep shifting grain by grain
And touches her feet’s soul straight up to spine
As the sea comes in to caress shoreline
With rubble and stubble and shells 
That ramble and scramble as waves gamble 
Drawing lots to see 
What to leave behind or take
And the sands move
And her heart quakes
For stability
There are no branches to hold in this sea
The waters rise and she is swamped
By raucous fears
And the sound of laughter
From the card bearer
Who shuffles hands of fortune
Or misfortune in the distance
And with luck her lone adversary
These sands in motion
Convince her once again
That life is so unfair

Copyright©2013 by Camille Caliscia Patrick

NEGATIVE SPACES

That dark spot hidden so carefully
Behind years, months, days, hours, minutes 
And seconds of time
Under layers of joy and smiles
And mistrust, I see it
You share so selflessly 
And stare so lovingly
And in your eyes, I see 
Those flashes, blinks of memories
You’d rather forget
Yet they all come together 
Like negative spaces 
In this masterpiece 
To portray that object
Your subject of regret my love
For this secret you have left behind, 
Is out of sight
But not out of mind,in your past 
And though I do not know the secret that is there
Those negative spaces implore me to beware
Copyright©2013 by Camille Caliscia Patrick

HEAR-SAY

It’s true what they say about books, judgement and covers
It’s true what they say about content, story-lines and authors
It’s also true what they say about good girls and bad boys
And bad girls and good boys
Is it not true, what they say?
Copyright©2013 by Camille Caliscia Patrick

RANDOM RAYS

The morning is here
and light shines on his face
night, is forever erased,
it seems
With light,
insecurities and doubt, 
lack and loneliness,
failure, faithlessness and fear, 
were chased:
from his sullen heart;
from his crazy mind;
from his unbelief,
in seasons, purposes 
and times
and random rays of golden hope, 
open his eyes real wide
to brighten, that dismal path
he has grown to follow- inside
and he can see,beyond finally...
for there is a future
now that there is sun

Copyright©2013 by Camille Caliscia Patrick

DOWN LADDERS

The innocence in your eyes,
the truth upon your tongue,
the openness of your heart-Raj,
keeps me spell bound.
Your words flip and flutter
from heart to ear to ear
and your soul opens like a window
for me to peer
right in,
straight through,
above and around.
I know exactly what to tell you-Raj,
To sweep you off this ground,
Because twenty plus thirty-two days are written in your stars,
Though Seventy-five million miles separates this Venus from Mars:
age difference,
race difference,
class difference,
Great distance...
And Raj,what will mama say?
When cougar-bears step down ladders,
Bridging distances to play
Or worse yet –stay

Copyright©2013 by Camille Caliscia Patrick

I CAME PREPARED

I came prepared, for this journey
Covered up, focused and ready
Leaving only my shadow behind,
Enticed by the hope ahead that shines
And like a light, it draws me,
Illuminates the clouds before me
I walk alone, though, not lonely
On this trying one man’s journey,
Void of distractions and full of faith,
I walk straight through the ocean's gate
When the sea stands tall
And foams and rages,
With forms, like lions’ faces
Over this path I must take,
It doesn't scare me,
Because there is no fear within
For I came prepared
I am ready, for this journey
Unmoved by the cracks
And crevices beneath
And there is no fluke in faith
So I walk on, intentionally,
On this path called destiny
Copyright©2013 by Camille Caliscia Patrick

LLUSIONS INVENTED

Lines and shapes all over this canvas
Intimately touched by splashes of paints
Of red, yellow and blue, and fine mixtures of the same
Behind which, a young woman in obscurity rest,
Surrounded by truths that only she can see
For though one by one they enter the gallery,
One by one they see what they choose to see
And no one identifies, with the base of this abstract
With shapes and paints and artistic complexities
That taints the interpretations of the shrewd
Who dare define the masterpiece-but superficially
And misunderstands the abstruse intents of the art
And overlooks the hidden yet bold scars,
Of the recondite figure behind the crazy contrast,
Whose eyes secrete endless tears of burdened hopes
To dilute the colours of this abstract perception
Upon abstract art, Illusions invented, by human perceptions
Created because everyone has seen what they wanted
And no one sees the transcendent subject, of the art
Copyright©2013 by Camille Caliscia Patrick

TO MOTHER

Men, the fruit of our wombs,

Have launched an attack

Growing up and loving each other

Leaving our sisters for our brother

What is happening to mankind?

What is happening to womankind?

Woman, searching for a husband and father

To   complete her capacity to mother

And, she needs the man, she needs a brother

Dear mother, Men are plotting together

A genocide that is far greater than Hitler

The annihilation of the human race

Spitting ingratitude in God’s face

For the sister He has given

For the rib he has taken

I feel so damn threatened,

 By homosexuality,

A clear attack on humanity,

Mother, what is our strategy?

To support this, you ask too much of me!!!

Mother, anyone who supports an attack is an ally

And if it’s against his nation he is a traitor

She is a traitor...

Women, we are under attack

Must we now support that nature?

We need our men, we need our brothers.

We need them to be fathers and to be lovers

I feel so damn threatened,

 By homosexuality.

Copyright©2013 by Camille Caliscia Patrick

CLUELESS

He stood up proud, heart pounding, 
Eyes dilated, sweat dripping 
With a broad smile stretched from ear to ear
As palm met palm in his act of standing ovation.
With a mustered up joule or two of energy
He shouted encore, encore, e-n-c-o-r-e!
And Impressive, was the word of his day
For it ran through the auditorium
With sprints of countless echoes
And, she looked on, taking in the show
Listening to the cheers
Regretting the time wasted
For this was no mirror act,
It was no rehearsal,
It was no cast pitched across
The stage of an imagination
Else she would have understood.
It was her lover playing the role
Of both actor and audience, again!
Applauding himself in an empty auditorium
While his lady sat in the back seat, in the dark
With her head bowed in shame
For she was absolutely unimpressed!
Copyright©2013 by Camille Caliscia Patrick

QUAGMIRE

Hunted like a wild animal,

Cornered to the whims

 Of a predator,

He was trapped!

Ambushed, with no route of escape

To fight now or believe the truth,

Was his stark dilemma

And he had no power to overcome

For he was inclined to surrender

Slave to his errors,

And there were many,

Errors of omission, that is

Enticed, knowingly returning

To that point of juxtaposition,

Where love and hate recline

Bowing daily to the wile

Of the weakness- inside

Hating the predator outside

Loving the predator inside

Not willing to contend

With the overpowering desire,

To enjoy what he had grown used to.

Slave to his habits,

And there were many,

Errors of commission, that is

He was deceived, failing to see

 That there was one enemy

And he could fight,

Passively or actively

If he believed

That no gambit,

No stratagem, no snag,

Plot, ploy or artifice

Could ever befit him

Copyright©2013 by Camille Caliscia Patrick

MATTER OF STYLE

A ring for some is but a matter of style
And for another, it is a symbol of principle
And there are those who use rings as a measure of control,
As lone occupants of piercings, throughout the body and the soul
Great conquerors, in history books all rest well
And to shrewd men, great cities also fell
Of the old fables, Achilles' heel is often told
And where piercings of weakness lie, conquerors unfold.
But to the young, free spirited and contemporary, 
Life is just for living and in style, there is no theory
Yes rings are multipurpose ornaments indeed
But the shifting powers of the ring pierce best, 
Where there is human need.
So this promissory ring, you have given me, my brother
Must I put it through my nostrils now? 
Or should I wear it on my finger?
Copyright©2013 by Camille Caliscia Patrick

ANOTHER WORD

You are the product of my words

I spoke you into being

My words entered a chamber called destiny

And you took   form there entirely

But now that you’re in my life

Just the way I professed you to be

I will speak another word

For you are here   on no account of your decisions

Your presence is not coincidental

It‘s but a matter of precision

You are prisoner to each breath of mine

And subservient to each utterance

So don’t get cocky on me

Do you really believe I’d let you be?

Ha! I have already spoken the word of your release

So you can now leave my life soon and carry on in peace

For you are the product of my words

Copyright©2013 by Camille Caliscia Patrick

THE RAIN

The rain falls and falls

The earth takes a drink,

The trees celebrate the shower

The animals lap up the water

And I sit here alone

Wondering when this will stop

For each drop and   pitter patter

Represents something I have no control over

Though man was made to dominate

I rely and rely and wait and wait

If only I knew how to love the rain

How to dig out a reservoir in the midst of disdain

From the earth of pain

In the midst of each   raindrop

 The trees dance

The earth is quenched

The animals are satisfied

And I   see it for only what it is and not for what it can be

Not making the best of it

Does nature have more sense than me?

Copyright©2013 by Camille Caliscia Patrick

AND STILL

We are opposites

Two sides of a coin

Negative and positive

South and North Pole

We are contrary

In every sense of the word

Bad and good

Strong and weak

Experienced and naive

And still we love each other

Copyright©2013 by Camille Caliscia Patrick

THAT I AM

I am the link, the chain that holds together continents
I am she that was stolen from her tribe.
I am the rich merchant that colonized.
I am the head hunting savage. 
I am the laborer who sought a better life.
I am the link, the chain that holds together continents
I am fetters of truth which defies all physical deceptions,
Founded in hair texture and celebrated in complexions.
My elements though seen and unseen,
Are discreetly encoded in my genes
Sure, I am the link, the chain that holds together continents.
The embodiment of different faces,
The offspring of different races,
The contour lines of different lands,
All converge in me for I am Trinidadian
And yes, I am that link, the chain that holds together continents.

Copyright©2013 by Camille Caliscia Patrick

INNUENDO

I held a snake recently

Its slippery body coiled around my hand

Its diamond cut, earth colored scales

Blended with my mind with immeasurable accuracy

And without doubt, this snake fascinated me

I spoke freely to a serpent not too long ago

I planted my dreams,thoughts and secrets

Deep in the pits of its habitat

Its tongue then reached out to me often

With smiling hisses of satisfaction

I, fed a snake in the bosom of  my yesterday

I fattened it constantly with my trust

And as we played together it began to multiply

Without warning, before my very eyes
Until I unleashed every part of my being

To hidden unprecedented fangs

Now in the shallows of my memory

In the very adjacent corners of my mind

I see finally those friendly eyes

Impregnated with venom

And at last I understand, that snakes

Are 100% friends who are 200% enemies

Copyright©2013 by Camille Caliscia Patrick