A Jamaican Greeting!

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! ❤️ more »