(A tree in Fern Gully, Jamaica)

So today is National Poetry Day here in the UK, and I thought I would mark it by sharing a poem with you from my very first collection.

The poem is called Kingdom, also the title of the collection, and is inspired by a recent trip to Jamaica.

Kingdom

There is a tree in Fern Gully,

said to look

like the beard of a Rastafari –

matted, spiritually defined.

There is also an Ethiopian Church

in Fern Gully, it remains partially built,

partially seen by the Rastafari tree.

The Ethiopian church is a Kingdom in stone,

spiritually defining

what the Rastafari does

from hair on his head to beard.

The tree he can eat, the meat he cannot.

He cannot stomach the meat, but cannot stop from eating it-

partially digested

it sits in his stomach.

Jamaica is Hell, and Ethiopia is Heaven

says the tree, choose which one you want.

I hope you enjoyed it, and Happy Poetry Day!

Much love Txx