1. A collection of poems By Clifton Neil
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A collection of poems By
Clifton Neil

2. JAH FIRST (For mom and Vaneker)
I find myself looking
On all I have been through
False accusations, belittling
And all types of blues.
I knew I could easily be
What they want me to be;
Big cars and looking pretty,
Friend this and all I can see
I know what I want to be,
So the more they force me
The more I learn of what is true:
Jah first, all will be added to you

3. COME AND HEAR Come, please come and hear.
It may sound like the same story
But come, please come and hear.
It is of someone’s glory
Come near, nothing to fear.
We have all been trying to do good;
It’s just that we took the wrong road,
But let us identify the fatherhood.
Come please come shed your load.
Everyone you see, has a chance:
A chance to live, a chance to die.
Come, let us praise the Lord
On the drum and in the dance.
Come and listen, no time to cry.

4. WHAT IS LIFE? It is a race be run and won. The goal, immortality.
The winner, loser of all vanity.
It is not a race for the swift
But for one who is slow enough to ask,
“what is life?”
What is life?
Is it a process that will cease?
No, never, Life is God,
And who is God?
God is love, God is peace.
Put love in your heart,
Be at peace with yourself
And rightfully you will receive God.
And that is life, eternal life,
The goal of men.

5. LIFE Life is a tree. It grows from a seed.
Nurtured, it will spread beautifully
But there is always someone
To chop a branch off the tree.
Life never stops there
Like the tree, it grows new buds;
Younger branches growing like the prototype
With more puissance and more strength.

6. COMFORTING TO KNOW Come children, your mother is calling.
Don’t cry baby brother, father is here.
It won’t be long now; stop your bawling.
Everything will be all right, father is here.

7. YOUTH THOUGHTS I am young, Plenty of time for goals. Young green boy,
So I am told.
I always listen,
Always try to know
Was it like this,
Will it still be so?
Imagine me,
Growing as a youth.
Thinking, planning,
What is truth?
A day will come ,
I may grow old.
Family life soon,
Children to scold.
Where from there
Would depend on me;
End of life’s way
Or joy for eternity.

8. TRIALS There are many steps to climb, And many trials to face,
Many questions will flash through one’s mind
Yes, crucial decisions to make.
I have succeeded, at times I fail,
But I say the Lord knows why.
So if I fail, I take stock of them.
Life is a teacher, it points out faults
There may be gold at the rainbow’s end
And he who tries, may find it;
But I don’t like to search in vain.
Where does a rainbow start?
Where does a rainbow ends?

9. TAKEN FOR GRANTED Green, dark green is the colour of the grass
Fresh, in the early hours of dawn.
The blades are strong, the plant is well
Nothing like it, a beautiful sight to behold.
Pale green is the colour of the grass.
Battered, in the midday sun.
It has been trampled on by men;
What a pity, there was nothing like it.
Brown is the colour of the grass.
A mess, in the cool of the evening.
It has undergone another day of suffering;
Try as it might, there was nothing like it.
Black is the colour of the man.
An unfortunate creature of the world.
His arms are strong, the man is well,
Nothing like him, a creature being enslaved.

10. THE LONE STAR I look at the clear blue sky
With only one star to tell a story.
It is up there so high
With no friends to share the glory.
I am wondering why
You are alone up there tonight,
You seem to be smiling
As you shine with all your might.

11. I AM My love, nothing you see is new.
Love is in everyone; shared by only a few
Accept me for what I am
Then you will find out just who iam.

12. STRUGGLING Morning, noon and night Seeking to get my rights.
Yesterday, today and tomorrow
I may still be living in sorrow.
Through trials, crosses and tribulations
I have to keep fighting on.
With none to give a helping hand
That is a sad state for any man.
Struggling just to stay alive
With little chances to survive.
Comfort I have never seen,
My life is one of struggling

13. WAILERS Wailing, wailing, wailing The people are tired of crying.
Laughers, laughing all the time.
Cyers, crying all the time.
Wailings and gnashing of teeth,
Their lives aren’t sweet;
One of pain, one opf sorrow,
They can feel it in their marrow.
So, no time to rest my brothers;
Let us work this out together.
“Better must come one day”,
That is what, prophets of old say.
People are you ready?

14. JAMAICA LAMENT I am wretched; whose am I?
Why do I want to cry, just cry?
Isn’t Africa my only mother?
Wasn’t I, a land of wood and water?
My wood is cut, my water is going,
I am alone, all alone with strangers.
Awake my sons and daughters, awake!
Oh children! Awake, if only for my sake.
My arms are wide, well stretched out
But no child jumped in them.
My bosom, my breasts once had the best of milk
Now, when my babies sup, they wither and die.
I ask for my music; drums but no drummers,
Time for my messages; prophecies but no prophets.
Have mercy, I have been through a lot:
Ridicule, slavery… give me rest, rest.
Mother Africa, mother, I want to come home.

15. PONDERING JAMAICA I have astonished may, Been through a lot
And yet I will rise again;
This time never to fall.
I have been safe guarded;
Even storms have avoided me,
Catastrophes are rare on my grounds
And yet I am not being boastful.
I have built one people, out of many:
The black, the white and the brown,
the Indian and also the China man
Now, why can't we join hands and work?
I have the natural resources,
You must be the labourers
I will yield my best; you do the same
And bit by bit, we shall overcome.

16. I YOU? Just suppose I were you. You wouldn’t have a chance.
No, you wouldn’t have a chance,
Never get a chance to be you.
I would never one day lose
A battle between me and you.
I would have the power to choose,
Not only for me, but also for you.
Still, I am glad I am little me,
You are too big a person to be.
I rather be me all the time;
Because I dread to think,
Suppose you were I.

17. SOUL FREE I will build a house on the firm rock of truth,
Furnish it with love
then come looking for you
I want you to understand
the life you have to live.
You must not pretend,
everything I stand for is real.
Close by me
you will be just as free
Knowing I am love,
a love that is real.
If 6 were the same as 9
we would not need to choose.
You may trick me and win,
when you trick love you lose.
Hope you are for real,
hope it’s true love you feel.
Hope you are for real
to live a life that is free.

18. CUPFUL Soft words, turn away anger. Harsh words, provoke wrath.
Love has got no time for quarrels,
Has got no time for fussing.
It has got life to live;
All the joy It has to give.
My love, strange to know you do quarrel.
Where is the harmony
That’s exist with love?
Please stop and think.
The night has gone, replaced by day.
You always promised you would change,
Saying, “Tomorrow I will change.”
And there are only todays.

19. MY BROTHER’S KEEPER We should all be our brothers’ keepers.
This would make life much easier;
With me looking out for you
And you looking out for me too.
Are you being your brother’s keeper?
If not so, what are you waiting for?
Do you realize you are the one
Who is putting the pressure on?
Be your brother's keeper.
Help him to overcome.
If you are his keeper
His things are your and yours his.

20. THE FATHER Excellent is the name of Him, The first and last of all,
The beginning and the end
The fullest of the I am.
Father, Son and Chosen Ones;
The unity of the giver of life.
All wisdom, all knowledge
And all understanding is He.
His sign is terrible and dreadful.
He lies still, watching dragons and eagles,
A lion, strongest and King amongst beasts:
So is the Father amongst men.

21. VIEW Easy was related to comfort But these were hard to find.
It took determination and the Lord’s help
To be in front, away from misery.
The trend is tightly sealed.
The chains , strong to their weakest links,
But we have finally realized
To stop a man takes more than killing him.
Understand my friends, get the know how.
Don’t shy away, that’s what they want.
Remember, they don’t know you
But you know them.

22. BREAK MY CHAINS Cloudy sky and rain, Let my sun shine a bit.
Break the chain
Take it off my feet.
What is happiness like?
What is really joy?
My only friend is night,
I tried to laugh but no joy.
I can walk about
But I am a slave again.
Sleeping lion, get up,
Come break my chain.
Lion, kill all pains.
Lion, kill all sorrows.
Break all chains
To live a life not borrowed.

23. BURSTING Bursting with energy And getting very mighty.
Forgiving but not forgetting.
Knowing love is for everything.
Bursting with love:
With love sweet love.
Expecting nothing
But knowing love is for everything.

24. THEY SAY Sitting each day They say I am lazy. Ask for help
They think I am crazy.
For years I have tried
And many tears I have cried
My failures fill both hands
And this goes on and on.
They could have helped
But they wanted the pressure felt.
Wanted me to try my best
When I am at my fullest.
No doors open though I knocked,
I seek and have found not
And now I am on the track
They’re saying this and that.

25. BLUES When sitting, facing the blue sky That seems to meet the sea
And sea stretching to meet land,
All that is in your mind is blues.
Wide open, blue jotted sky,
Dotted by small grey cloud bands
Which dapple a shaded blue sea
That is dotted, but mostly blue.
That meets sea at the horizon
Which meets land, you think in blues.
Blue, blues, dark green, blue.

26. Patience The wind is angry with me today. It would not stop
To give me a chance
To do as I want.
It kept on blowing away
With its great might,
Determined to humbug
My little deed.
Succeeding it seems
Well set to win,
But I won’t despair
There’s always another day.

27. WILL It was only by will that the storm stood still.
No man’s purpose, no man’s might.
That the storm stood still.

28. EXODUS:REVELATION For thousands of years
My people have shed their tears.
Their wailings have been heard;
Time for the last of the shepherds.
The last of the Moses
And the last of the Exodus.
The battle of the Armageddon
Shall prove everything in the Revelation.
It was pain now sing Redemption,
It was Exodus, sing Revelation.

29. A CAST Cloudless sky, punctuated by stars.
Lovely night, shattered by a dying scream.
Sobbing people, wiping away their tears
This was the cast, the actors are you and I.

30. NATURAL CHILD She was in the world But not of the world.
She stood erect,
Her beauty a natural phenomenon.
Her poise
Showed the perfection of her profile:
From her hair to her toes
She was untouched.
Her lips had no paint
Nor were her nails polished.
She knew
But walked not the ways of the world.
I looked
In her eyes and cried,
“Here is a natural,
A natural child at last.”

31. WOMAN Man's best friend is a woman. She's to man what night is to day.
She is made just like man
and can shine as bright as day.
A house is not a home
without an understanding woman inside.
Though sometimes happy and sometimes sad
a man likes a woman at his side.
Man must not control a woman.
She must be respected and made free.
One shouldn't try to force her to be
the very things she hates to be.
Let us face life as it really is.
Woman is more than a housewife.
She's what God made her to be:
a perfect companion throughout life.

32. V.J. (For Vaneker) Vain races did I run A fool’s treasure I won.
No one’s fault but mine,
Each new love takes time.
Kings and Princes do joke,
“Either it is whole or uneven yoke?”
River to stream, shed your load.
Just you my dear
Of all those that should care,
Hard it was to say:
None made me feel that way.
So, you have also tried,
Only to see near tears cried?
Now, tell me, has love died?

33. SIT AND WONDER WHY (For Vaneker)
I have chosen this:
Of all that goes by,
The ones you would miss.
I should not be moved;
If only I would try
I would be there in the groove.
I say the things that I say;
Of all that pry
None did like this today.

34. DECISIONS It is your decision Not my decision. I have made one
Like any other man.
Don’t be confused
Because of what other people do.
Remember, this man and that man
Is just like you.
Their dwelling places
may be high or low,
They are still sharing
This life you know.
The way is straight
So cut out the corners.
A simple life
Goes much further.
It is your choice
So you must choose well;
Righteousness for ever
As time must tell.
It is your decision
Not my decision.
I have made one
Like any other man.

35. SEASONS (For Terrence Beacham [SON]
Eagerly awaited Spring, has finally come.
A time of year, always remembered by the aged.
The young supple and decisive time….
Oh Spring! Are you leaving us.
Spring has gone, but not for long.
It's time for Summer to be master:
The active , strong and brilliant part of life.
Summer! Not you too? Don’t leave us!
Autumn steps in as ancient as time.
A time to cry, but do you want to?
It’s the realizing, preparing and waiting.
Strange, these happen only in autumn.
Winter is here, tell everyone it’s Winter.
A time when people and birds go south:
The cold, shivering and miserable Winter.
Winter, hey Winter! Aren’t you gone?
Spring, oh eagerly awaited Spring.

36. PROVERBS AND LIFE An old Jamaican saying goes,
“There are two sides to every story:
One is for, the other against.
Another saying goes, “Try, try
And try, if at the one thousandth time
You still fail, try again.
This is very tiresome and discouraging
But people say, “Good for those who endure.”
“ A drowning man will catch at a straw.”
What does this proverb really mean?
Desperate people respect no one.
They say that new brooms do sweep clean,
Yet old brooms know the corners.
If I live by rules, I’ll never know you.
Doesn’t familiarity breeds contempt,
Distance brings and breeds respect??
Proverbs, proverbs, life, life
Proverbs and life.

37. DOUBTS Take a good look at me Lord. Why do I find it so hard?
I find it so hard to face reality,
Doubts are ever lingering with me.
Sometimes I think I am wrong
But how could that be? I know I am right.
Doubts! Did not Thomas doubt too?
He had to see and feel to believe it was true.
Am I to be blamed, Lord, am I?
Should I be given a chance to prove myself.
What? Oh Lord! You are wisdom and Knowledge,
You are Understanding: a good friend to have.

38. FACING IT I try to do my best, at times But when I am being praised,
I don’t know why, but I just shiver;
Every time I see success, I shiver.
The way I act, at times,
shouldn't surprise me if they loved me,
But I don’t know why, I just shiver.
Whenever I am loved, I shiver.
People do lose themselves, at times,
Because of love and success
But I don’t think that is why
Every time I see success and love, I shiver.

39. THEY ALL CRY This morning, aunt broke her leg
The rent was long overdue,
The powerman took their light
And the watermen took their water too.
She was flat broke in every way.
Mom cried, Miss Ruby cried, Gran cried,
“O help us God”, they all cried.
The last ounce of cornmeal gone
The house leaks even when the rain drizzles.
What is happening now
Happens throughout the four seasons.
Some people can take it, some can’t.

40. MOBILIZED On the move We are mobilized. Cut out the playing,
Time fe we get wise.
You farmer,
You better produce.
You pretty, pretty girl
Put your hands to use.
If you sit down
And gather up rust
You are going to lose
the man’s trust.
Look at the warriors
With them big bomb,
Tell them fe put
Down arms and come.
Cryers
Stop yu crying;
Come give a
Helping hand this time.
Listen man,
We are mobilized;
That you must realize.

41. THE UNKNOWN In the heart of man Lies unknown things; Quite unknown.
In the head of man
Lies things unknown;
Unknown.
If man had known
The Unknown….
If man was independent
of the unknown…
Things would be erased,
Leaving the Unknown
Unknown.
The great knowledge
of the Unknown,
Is the essence of life
Making men’s puny knowledge
quite unfelt.