A SIMPLE SMILE: A Poetic Memoir
Here are two of Dorothy Mahfood’s poems with the audio read by Janet Fryman
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Man, Nuh Badda Mi
A wha yu a as' me seh?
Weh you kan buy 'ardoe bread
Han' cow milk fi de pickney dem?
Wha part de shop de?
Wife a sleep and di pickney a ball
Nuh badder mi, fa mi nuh go deer
Mi live hover suh; no need no milk
‘Ave mi hown cow hover a mi yard
Get nuf milk a mornin’ time
Han' me no need no 'ardoe bread
Mi Pinckney dem get up hearly
Han' go milk cow, den dem go a school
Me go grung an' plant yam an t'ing
Nu more question, cause me gone a grung
Suh, nuh badda me, far mi busy
Born on a Horse
I was three when my father put me on a donkey
Quite young when I began to ride alone
Ridden goats, cows, donkeys, mules, horses
I even rode a pig one day
The smoothest ride of all—the mule, for sure
Rode standing on a horse; lay on the back of a donkey
As he walked down a steep incline
Thrown from a horse galloping under a pimento tree
A branch took me to the ground
Threw me into a pile of stones and nettles
I quickly got up and ran after the horse
Mounted him again and off we went
Swam in the ocean with my horse
Under unlimited blue skies
On Sundays, rode by myself to church
Hardly a day went by I did not ride
Never liked to repeat a track
There was always an adventure on a new path
At seventeen I got a job with a tour company
Which was on Harbour Street in Kingston
I heard about the horses at a racetrack
One day after work, I went to inquire
Here I introduced myself to the stable owner
And asked him if I could ride one of his horses
He replied, "These are racehorses. You can't ride them"
I answered, "I know how to ride." But again, he echoed,
"My child, you don't understand; these horses are racehorses
You are at Knutsford Park and over there is the racetrack
Do you want to get killed?"
I quietly replied, "Sir, I won't get killed, I was born on a horse
I have even broken in young, wild colts for riding myself
I can ride your horses if you will let me"
With that, he called the attendant, who brought out a horse
He told me, "Go ride and let me decide"
At the gate, I mounted this gorgeous, well-kept animal
He was washed and groomed and precisely shod
For a moment I thought I was in a wild dream
Then my thoughts brought me back to the track
As the gate opened the horse jumped forward
In a flash we galloped around Knutsford Park racetrack
Wow! Could he move. It was the fastest I had ever been
I was excited—exhilarated—and in my element
I'm here riding a racehorse, the dream of a lifetime
My brothers will be jealous when I tell them
Every evening after work, I would help exercise a horse or two
Adventures have never been rare for me
But this was truly an experience never to be forgotten:
The wind blowing in my face as I galloped around the track
"I see such joy in your smile as you fly past the gate," the stable owner said
Thank you Mr. Zaide for believing in me
A girl from Westmoreland—born on a horse