The eyes say it all
published:
Sunday | June 1, 2008
I walk down the street and stop,
As I see you,
Looking into my eyes,
And without looking into yours I know,
Just how mine look to you,
Not brown as they are, nor blue,
But vacant,
As empty as I feel,
For it is said that everything is in the eyes,
And though they aren't filling now,
As yours are,
With tears,
I look away,
For now that I've looked into your eyes I see,
Everything,
As they say,
And now I know they're empty too,
Not brown as they are, nor blue,
Just empty,
As me,
As you.
- Mikhail Johns
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Morning
The trees were in their winter shock
When I heard the crack
Of dawn pounding on the front door
Quickly I rushed to see the fright
Of birds, lizards, bees and trees
Shivering on the cloudy wing
Being hushed by the wind
And they sing!
While skipping from limb to limb
Songs of sorrowful delight
Oh spring! Oh spring! Oh spring
The birds, bees, lizards and trees
Sing!
With winter breeze
And the food seems slim.
- Stacey-Ann Stewart
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One Thing You'll Never Do
You took my heart and tore it in two,
Twisted my smile and made me blue,
My head was once high, but now it's bent,
You've become my weakness, taken my strength,
From what you've left I know not the right,
If love is blind I guess you took my sight,
You led the way, held my hand,
Now you've left me sinking in the sand,
I'd rather sticks and stones break my bones, than how your words have hurt,
You even dared to smile at me, when you dared question my worth,
Even though you've done these things,
No matter how hard you try,
One thing I know for sure,
You'll never make me cry.
- Mikhail Johns
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Wordsmith
A forum for examining the language of speech and writing.
License and licence
Officially, we still use an English spelling convention, which means that the noun is 'licence' (with a 'c') and the verb is 'license' (with an 's'). Of course, with the preponderance of American English, the lines have become blurred for too many of us. Regardless of spelling, however, the pronunciation is the same - 'LYE-SNS.' Therefore, it cannot be acceptable to hear people, including the erudite evening talk show hosts constantly talk about 'LYE-SN.' It exists if you are speaking Creole, but don't pretend to speak English and pronounce it LYE-SN.
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Seven Day or Seventh-day Adventist
A Seventh-day Adventist is one who observes the Sabbath, the seventh day. Could the fact that the person makes it quite clear that he is not a 'one-day Christian', and worships every day, be the reason that we are seeing the concept of 'Seven Day Adventist'? No, the notion is that the person worships on the seventh day, not that he worships for seven days. So, it is correct to say "Mark attends a Seventh-day Adventist church", not a "Seven Day Adventist church".
For questions and comments, email: the speechcoach_ja @yahoo.com.
CALLING LITERARY ARTS WRITERS
The Sunday Gleaner welcomes your poems and short stories for publication in our Literary Arts section. Include a photograph of yourself with your submission which should be emailed to editorial@gleanerjm.com. You may also mail or drop off your material at: The Gleaner Company, 7 North Street, Kingston. Please note that The Gleaner reserves the right to edit all works selected for publication. Stories should be no more than 900 words.
