JAH! Tek ah Pikchure of I

JAH!!!!!

Tek a pikchure of I…

And then laugh

Face upturned towards the leaden sky

Angry or happy who can say

When nature breaks loose and starts to play

W’ appen yout’, yuh ‘fraid? He asked

Face grinning like a mask

Set against the flood beating out of the heavens

Back arched to extremes

Bare legs splayed and planted

Arms flung wide as if to embrace the world

I saw him in the gloom

An unmovable thing amidst the howling wind

Glistening skin stretched over corded muscle and bone

Grown from hard work and harder life

He seemed an ancient god

Commanding the thunder of the skies with the thunder of his voice

The lightning in his eyes mimicked the light within the clouds

JAH!!!! He boomed

Flash!

Crack!

BOOM!

The rumble rolled like a mountain threatening to break the Creator’s flooring

And squash us to bits

He laughed again

And again he called

With a voice pregnant with the elements

Yout’! Come bwoy an watch yuh modda dance. Shout an mek Jah see yuh bwoy!

I cowered beneath that old tamarind tree

Watching the laughing mad man slowly becoming one with the elements

He shook his head

The thick ropes of his waist length lox moved as if alive

Generating wind of their own

Tossing water from their ends

It was true

I was afraid

I was always afraid

I was afraid now of him

And I was afraid of nature’s carnival

He turned his head to me, flashed me a smile filled with missing teeth

And said

Yuh musn’t ‘fraid bwoy cause dominion was given unto man

It was then that the lightning struck and time stopped

I cried out, but he was gone

All that was left was the echo of his laughter

Rolling with the thunder

And a whisper

Yuh musn’t ‘fraid bwoy

Standing in his footprints

Amidst the raging wind and rain

I released my fear

I released the hold of the world

And I who used to watch lightning behind closed lids

Who listened to thunder behind firmly pressed palms

Who felt the wind through concrete walls

And touched the rain beneath galvanized roofs

Planted my feet

Spread my arms

Turned my face upwards

And shouted

JAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Tek a pikchure of I!

Glen Toussaint 2012©