ATIBA OXLEY POETRY

Kicked back, riding,
Listening to some Kendrick.
Gas tank on E,
Gotta get some gas quick.
No choice but to full up,
Decision was very simple.
Out here cruising,
Trying to clear up my mental.
Harsh cold world,
Only the strong survive.
Every day is a gift,
So I thank God that I’m alive.
Commander in Cheeto,
Ruining tomorrow’s dreams.
It’s like we’re back in the 60s
Or so it seems.
Atiba focus on you,
And your loved ones.
Stormy gonna get him,
Or one of his other side huns.
Focus on what you can control,
You’ll love the outcome.
Soon life will stop being hard,
Like basketball to LeBron.

Soap suds dripping down your body,
Beautiful, slender frame looking yummy.
The curvature of your body exciting,
Every inch of manhood appreciating.
Beautiful chocolateness that I see,
Is every man’s number one fantasy.
Sleep tight and keep dreaming,
Because she’ll have you fiending.

These four walls,
They hide my misery.
They echo no sympathy.
The paint makes me shivery.
Color white like ivory.
Marks on it can tell a story.
But these four walls,
Will not be the death of me.

Terry, my cousin Terry.
Whose smile lit up the room,
Like the Sun and the Moon.
Terry, my cousin Terry.
Stolen from your family.
You’re gone too soon.

Terry, my cousin Terry.
In life your greatest gift above all,
Was to bring people together.
Terry, my cousin Terry.
Your gift is still of use,
As we are here to remember.

Terry, my cousin Terry.
Thought you are gone,
You’re still in our memory.
Terry, my cousin Terry.
We still see you,
Especially when we look at Trinity.

Where I’m from,
The land of sea and sun.
The sun rises in Sangre Grande,
And in Port of Spain sets the sun.
Land of the Chaconia,
And plentiful species of Hummingbird.
The Scarlet Ibis and the Cocorico,
They are our national birds.
From Richard’s Bake and Shark in Maracas,
To Sauce’s doubles in the Junction of Curepe.
My homeland is full of beauty,
In every direction and step.
The beauty and colors that you see,
Partying on Carnival Monday and Tuesday.
Crossing the stage and on to last lap,
Then back to church on Ash Wednesday.
The sounds of the tassa during Pagwa,
To the food and lights of Diwali.
All faiths are welcome and allowed,
Even languages such as Hindi.
The red, the white, and the black,
All creeds and races together as one.
Trinidad and Tobago,
That is where I’m from.

This moon,
Will disappear,
As the sun rises soon.
To once again reappear.
For earth,
It adds style and flair.

Holding on to a fantasy.
As life is hard as it is.
Wanting an alternate reality,
No dreams to be dismissed.
Not knowing and loved,
Is still hard to bear.
Never knowing and loving,
Is my greatest fear.
It could’ve, should’ve been,
But never happened.
It still can and should,
Before the dirt flattens.
We know it’s there,
So what are we waiting for?
Live out our fantasies,
Change our reality forever more.

How funny life is.
Not getting any wishes.
Loving and losing.
Heart’s constantly bruising.
But there’s the little moments.
Ahh, life’s little moments.
Where love creeps in,
And gives you a chance to win.
Is the time right for the taking?
History in the making?
There’s only one way to find out,
The flower must sprout.

This is the silence of a crush.
Words that I kept hushed.
Glancing at you on the side.
My feelings I had to hide.
Then one day she said to me hi,
My stomach turned in to a butterfly.
Never would I even know.
Her feelings she couldn’t show.
That she also had feelings to hush,
As she said hi to her crush.

Everyday when I see you,
I think of things new new.
I may not be perfect,
And maybe we were not a good fit.
For a while it worked,
And that was no joke.
We shared lots of love,
And claimed it came from above.
We laughed and we cried,
We feared and we tried.
But things didn’t work out,
And now my heart’s in a drought.
It hurt, but it was necessary,
To make a stronger and wiser me.