ef you doan wan eat slimy okro stewwid hands & lips don’tI have& I’ve curved my silver spoon awaywhile delicately scooping turtle soup& pulled fresh thyme through my teethBajan soup: pumpkin puree & pigtails& I’ve raised a small bowl to my lips—why notwhile tasting miso broth of soybean & koji.We Caribbeans are in-betweenMother Africa, Asia & the colonial waythe okra in my cou cou only slightly slimedflying fish ndiwo firm, metal fork stabbing just slightlyIt’s time I try my yellow turned corn mealwith right-hand fingers lick them cleanremember a liminal ancestor or two in the chewing.
Civilised Okra
Lynda V.E. Crawford
Feature Date
- March 10, 2024
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Copyright © 2023 by Lynda V.E. Crawford.
All rights reserved.
Reproduced by Poetry Daily with permission.
Lynda V.E. Crawford is a poet, born and raised in Barbados. She has lived on both coasts of the US (Connecticut and California). Her work has appeared in national and international journals, including ArtsEtc Barbados, the Caribbean Writer, Galway Review, Bookends Review, Exposition Review, and various Moonstone Arts Center anthologies. Crawford is a graduate of the University of Connecticut (bachelor’s degree) and Long Island University (master’s degree).
Spring 2023
Lincoln, Nebraska
University of Nebraska
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