Assault Rifle, October and Becoming: three poems by Keon Heywood

​​Assault Rifle

“Pig ask e mumah wha mek e mouth suh lang

She seh pickney, when yuh come yuh gon know

Me ask me daddie how come he stan suh strong

He seh son, when yuh get big yuh gon grow”

Slowly he exposed the object

wagged it for some to see

my mouth dropped

someone gasped

as he continued nonchalantly

so when the teacher left,

a group of girls and boys

gathered around his desk

to catch a glimpse of his toy

I snatched it,

and went chasing the girls with glee

got caught up in my excitement

tripped and fell on my knee

“come” Said Mrs Buttercup

breathing heavy at the door

and flogged me with pleasure

till my bottom was sore

October

Frozen

I see she writhing inside

Trapped

I see it in she eye

Pink tears roll down cheeks

night gown open

cold sweat

a centipede is now she left breast

I count her heartbeats

Yes seven years later

Ricochet

Nine months now

and she still deh hea

I keep on fanning

de breeze cool she skin

All in she bones it now swimming

right arm broken

lumbar missing

leg deteriorating

hip

de pampers wet

“mom, one of de girls gon change you… yuh hear?”

She replies, “God won't give me more than I could bear.”

From 'Becoming III'

Sleep evades me

I close my eyes and I see your face

contorted

I get up

shower

let the cold water run its way over me

freely

feel the trickle on my fingers

fingering me

I watch the waves wash every part

I open up

unashamedly

expose all that's nasty

skin back black flesh slowly

wasting… it's a waste

I'm dying a death like the greedy

cracked back animal thrown out of the sky

his borrowed feathers snatched

he can't fly

though my thinking is like lightning

my hearing, smelling, seeing

there's no permanent joy

just a smoke lingering

I'm going but not moving

I'm moving but not going…

​​

​​Keon Heywood was born in 1988 in Georgetown, Guyana. An “Artist at Heart,” he has performed as an Actor, Dancer and Poet in Guyana and other parts of the Caribbean. He enjoys working with At-Risk Youth and other vulnerable groups. Keon is an English Teacher and member of the Theatre Guild of Guyana. His first collection of poetry will be published this year.

Keon Heywood 2018

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