Back in de Day

 

 

In the days

When floors were scrubbed

And a piece of pine

Would draw some blood.

 

Back in de day

When all was taken down

And bare confusion

Was lying around.

 

When Morris chairs

Were spectacularly polished

And in just a few days

We saw piles of rubbish…

 

 

Box-carted out

To the front road

And the garbage truck

Would collect the loads.

 

Spring cleaning it was

At Christmas time

And we work hard, hard

Via parents’ design.

 

Repacking de groundsil

And painting it white

So that de snow would glisten

In the Bajan sunlight.

 

White-lime, the paint,

And a crude looking brush

You won’t find at Carters;

No need to rush.

 

 

And pulling long grass

To full up the bed

And only realizing you were cut

When it bled.

 

Dreaded hard work

But still excited

Cause it’s all for Christmas

And we were delighted.

 

Ham fragrance,

Compliments of a ham

Hanging from a rafter

For the entire clan.

 

No fridge to clean

And no gas stove either

But every corner in the house,

Bad news to a spider.

 

Oversized shoes

We must grow into

But not from de coolie man

I assure you.

 

 

From a store in town:

These were store shoes,

Bragging rights for once;

That was cool.

 

Stuffed with paper

So they won’t drop off

And sometimes they were so big

Your feet could get lost.

 

New toys

That were not new,

Somebody else’s old toys

Given to you.

 

Maybe from a home

Granny worked at

As a maid or domestic servant

Or something like that.

 

Like our gran-gran

And our great aunt

That worked for white people

And our lives enhanced.

 

Nice white people

That respected them

And made Christmas preparations

Less of a problem. 

 

Bread and pudding

And black cake too,

They baked them all at work;

This is true.

 

Though it was hard

This was a break

That we could ill afford

Not to take.

 

And so, when I think

Of Christmas today,

I can’t help but reminisce

‘Bout Christmas back in de day.

 

Stewart Russell © December 18, 2024