Cayman Islands residents 15 and older were invited to write essays for the Estella Scott-Roberts Foundation’s 2012 SAAM Literary Competition. The first place winner received an iPad sponsored by an anonymous donor; the second place winner received a BlackBerry 9360 sponsored by LIME; and the third place winner received a Kindle Touch sponsored by the Estella Scott-Roberts Foundation. The winners also read their poems aloud at the Foundation’s Steps to End Silence Walk that was held on Saturday, 21st April. The winning entries were as follows:
1st Place: Susan Barnes
“Balance of Love”
Faulty LOVE, you more and me less
Lights dimed
Ravaged by jealousy and sexual violence
Drowned in darkness
Receded into a state of confusion
Cultivated hatred
Baked in fear
Stumble onto courage
Wrestle with inner strength
Balance of Love
Make the choice for new life
Vibrant LOVE, me more and you less
Igniting sparks of
Fostering trusting passions and sexual awareness
Healing heart floating in light
Increasing a state of clarity
Reaping hope and promise
Suddenly there is potential
* Note the reader should first read Faulty Love (from top to bottom) then the middle section “Stumble …” then Vibrant Love (from bottom to top).
2nd Place: Lynn Morris
Pillar of Society
I can’t stand you.
You make my skin crawl.
You know it, too, don’t you?
That’s why you always
stroke my arm and say hello
when others are watching.
You think they don’t know,
but they do.
Don’t talk to me about need.
I need a whole man in my bed,
not one lost and unsure
because you had to
slip it to him
behind the altar
of respectability.
They told us in an effort to explain
that we weren’t the problem.
But the shame you thrust
into them has penetrated
their marrow,
and they refuse
to say anything more.
All of them lost boys now.
Deadbeat dads.
Drink too much.
Smoke too much.
Laugh too loud.
Mayberry Babylon
because there’s no way
to avoid you
in this godforsaken
dot on the map.
Self-appointed paragon of virtue
with no redeeming qualities.
Not one, you braying buffoon.
Play the martyr to avoid
the backlash of talk
among the women trying
to heal your victims.
We know.
Stay away from our sons
and stop asking us
to honor your facade
of insipid belief.
Don’t ever forget:
We know,
and we owe you
no silence.
3rd Place: Nasaria Budal
Surprise, Surprise, Buster
How long has it been? Twenty years?
And yet you still own that space in my head
Where you moved in so many years ago
When you forced me down on my childhood bed
Where you whispered your dirty little thoughts
And promised you wouldn’t hurt me
And yet every day and every night I wish the memory away
I wish I could erase it eternally; I wish myself into anxiety
I jot my thoughts; drown the noise in my head
Let Tracey Chapman sing her sad song loudly
While I will myself from victimization
And yet you wear your peda-phernalia proudly
Hiding behind those knowing eyes; those hands;
That lying smile of safety you once fed my soul
When you had your way with me
When you stole my innocence wholly
And yet here we are, some twenty years later
And there you are, Buster, still living rent free in my head
Still invading my most intimate thoughts
Still invading my dreams and the things I said
Weaving your way into my everyday life
Working yourself into the weak spots of my guard
Establishing new ways to rape my mentality
But I’m putting up a fight; I’m working so unbelievably hard
Surprise, surprise, Buster!
That little girl you broke way back when
Is now a warrior-woman
Stronger than ever, ready to fight or fend
No longer afraid of the things you did
No longer a victim of your evil
I refuse to let you live here
I will do what I have to; I will cause an upheaval
I will roar! I will scream it from the mountain-tops
“I am not your victim any longer!
“I am not your little weakling!
“Surprise, surprise, Buster. I am stronger!”
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