Windrush Poets
Benjamin Zephaniah is a celebrated poet born in Britain whose parents who came over to Britain from the Caribbean, He uses his poetry to raise awareness for social issues and fight social injustice. He’s written poetry for both adults and children and his first collection of children’s poetry was called “Talking Turkeys”.
James Berry
Windrush Child - John Agard
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The Fruit of the Spirit is Love (Galatians 5:22) by Marvin Thompson, a school teacher in Wales, was judged the best from more than 18,000 poems entered into the National Poetry Competition by more than 7,000 writers from 95 countries.
Thompson, who lives in Torfaen, south Wales, and works in Lliswerry high school in the city of Newport.
The Fruit of the Spirit is Love (Galatians 5:22)
Dusk reddened a Dual Heritage neck, hands
and a moustache – its ends curled with wax. Jason Lee?
I stood below his dreadlocks in woodland
and reached up to touch his feet. A whirring fan
greeted my waking eyes, the house sleepy.
I’d dreamt both Dali’s Christ and someone hanged.
“… a pineapple on his head…” sang football fans
and a comedian blacked up as Jason Lee,
mocking Rastas. Did Jason beg Jah:
“Please keep this from my kids.” Should I tell mine
I filled my lungs with ’90s minstrelsy
and sang, a teen lost in lads’ mag England?
Who taught me pro-Black talk was contraband?
The me who cwtched Dad whilst watching Spike Lees
was shoved down basement stairs, feet tied to hands.
Embarrassed, should I play my kids Wu-Tang
and other rap that set my rebel free?
One day, when they walk their kids through woodland
will they sing calypsos or ‘Blood of the Lamb’?
