by Ros Martin
(after the workshop)
I am thinking about you
from yesterday
Being introduced :
to you X's, the ones with no name
I am thinking:
of the beautiful landscape you inhabit,
An outside full of birdsong, blossoming trees
Does it uplift your soul?
You X, the one with no name?
I am thinking
What were the key events that shaped your life, the world that you inhabit, small and big
X, the one with no name?
I am thinking
Of a time line
I am thinking
Does this timeline ever end?
I am thinking
Of you, before you arrive, how did you get here or were you born in this place?
I am thinking
Of your submergence into the sophisticated workings of Finca Clavijo, Gran Canaria;
Newton, Barbados, sugar plantation economies, a workhouse, service in a Big House, a factory, a bed in a tiny room in UK's sophisticated pre war, post war economy
All variations on a theme...
I am thinking
of the skills you comes with. Are they recognised, utilized?
I am thinking
of Yoruba deities, Obatala, Oya, Yemoja,
I’m thinking
of Allah, Jesus, St Francis of Assisi, the Immaculate Conception all being called upon
I am thinking
of burial customs retained. Making home in a strange land is no small achievement.
I am thinking ....
What do you tell children about themselves?
Of their lives in front of them?
How to be a decent human being?
What do you show them, you the X’s the ones with no name?
I am thinking
Do you laugh, sing, celebrate, fall in love,
Of course you do?
What do you dream about ?
I am thinking
how this place changes you,
Finca Clavijo, Newton plantations, wherever they are, in whatever guises these slave economies take. Invisible little people, unrecognised, colonised, patronised, otherized
I am thinking
about our beautiful Georgian port city, Bristol & it’s legacies......
I am thinking
about you, plenty you XX’s, everywhere, the ones with no name.