Tanicia Pratt
For Mary Pratt
All my chirren is leave aftee sometime
an once dey does go
dey does don’t come back
sometime
all a mine is come back yinno?
sometime dey is don’t wan go
til dey have dey own chirren
and sometime
when dey chirren have dey chirren
yeah.
but yuse don’t check fa me like dat man
not like how yi use ta check fa me – I memba
yi use ta mussy come roun every Sundee
now it look like yi caught up in all kin’a teengs
but I still happy I get ta see yuh
oh I happy yi come cus dese chirren don’t come round like dat
an I sure dey don’t even bring dey chirren
yi eat? I tink I could find sum’m hea fa yuh
yeah yi cyaan get too deep up in dese teengs
soon I een gin be here
an when I dead afta yi done been in all kin’a teengs
yi een wan be cryin and hurtin up yi head
yi still is eat fish? I tink snapper hea but I een know
yi know fish gettin harder ta catch
yeah. conch, snapper, grouperI memba yi use ta like
when I bake grouper
but I een know when last grouper catch
fish een round like dat no more
das cus dem people is be teefin da fish when dey small
an everyday dey diggin
diggin diggin fa sum’n new
das why yi cyaan let errybody touch yi teengs
but I gin fix yi sum’n, baby
I so glad yi come ta see me
cus I een been feelin too good
yi know dis food don’t be no real food
an I sure das why I does be havin pains
das why I does say
I een know how long I gin be round
so make sure yi come check ta see me while I still breathin
yi memba we use ta go ta da beach?
yi was always scared yinno
so I use ta hold yi in my hand
yi ever learn ta float by yiself?
I could show yi yinno
if yi come back
maybe tomorra
maybe in da mornin
or da late afternoon
when it een too much tourist
if yi come back hea
I gin teach yuh
I gin teach yuh jus how ta swim.
Tanicia Pratt is a content writer, poet, and performance artist from The Bahamas. Her writing is a form of memory, archived or unearthed, to depict the many selves of the Caribbean landscape. Pratt’s work has been published by the grace of Palette Poetry, PREE, POUI, Write About Now, Tamarind Journal, among others. She has performed at Antiquities, Monuments & Museums, the Central Bank of the Bahamas Art Gallery, and the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas. Pratt received her BA in Marketing from The University of the Bahamas and is studying her MA in Poetic Practice at Royal Holloway, University of London.
When the language be sing sing and beautiful it plays on the ears tickling the sweetness of the words like honey dripping on a plain dry thing that need something. Tanicia Pratt make words sing sing so when Gullah hear they does know when Geechee hear they does know when Caribbean hear they does know when Roatan hear they does know when Guyana hear they does know cause we make this dry language sing sing we can all understand her when she tell story about life and change. We connect with she and now we all want to sing sing.
Sorry, why aren’t you writing in PREE yourself 🙂
🙏 Soon come. 😊