A Jamaican Greeting!

Karl Constantine FOLKES 1935 (Portland)



Kuya, awah gwaan?
A warm Jamaican greeting.
Lyrically voiced.

About this poem

There is nothing like speaking with the intimacy and warmth of one’s native language and, even more so, seeing it as literature, expressed loquaciously in writing. The colloquial expression of greeting in Jamaican Creole (Jamaican Patwa to some), “Kuya, awah gwaan,” translated roughly in English as, “Hi, howdy do,” can be heard everywhere in the island of Jamaica and overseas as well, in countries where Jamaicans reside, gather and bond in genuine friendship, reminding one of the Hebrew verse of Psalm 133, verse 1: “Hineh, mah tov hu mah na’im shevet akhim gam yakhad. ” (“Wow, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to gather in unity”). This haiku poem is written to uplift the Jamaican brethren everywhere, and their comrades of all languages and all nationalities. Shalom! Peace and Love! ❤️ 

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Written on December 15, 2021

Submitted by karlcfolkes on December 15, 2021

Modified by karlcfolkes on October 08, 2022

3 sec read
238

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABC
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 61
Words 11
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 3

Karl Constantine FOLKES

Retired educator of Jamaican ancestry with a lifelong interest in composing poetry dealing particularly with the metaphysics of self-reflection; completed a dissertation in Children’s Literature in 1991 at New York University entitled: An Analysis of Wilhelm Grimm’s “Dear Mili” Employing Von Franzian Methodological Processes of Analytical Psychology. The subject of the dissertation concerned the process of Individuation. more…

All Karl Constantine FOLKES poems | Karl Constantine FOLKES Books

57 fans

Discuss the poem A Jamaican Greeting! with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "A Jamaican Greeting!" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/115904/a-jamaican-greeting!>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    17
    hours
    48
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    The haiku is originally from ______.
    A Japan
    B Ireland
    C Indonesia
    D China