Street Walking

So last night I was feeling bored and depressed and couldn't think so one of my friends suggested that I talk a walk. I went to look at a football game but 15 minutes after I got there the game was done.

So still feeling bored and depressed, I decided to walk through the streets of Roseau. I must reiterate that this is a normal thing for me, although I never really do it when I’m in such a down mood.

Roseau was quiet, as it normally is, with only a few people and vehicles. It was a perfect night for a stroll, or dwivay as we say in créole, except for the cold breeze that seemed to follow me everywhere. I started to think about everything and nothing all at the same time. A million thoughts ran through my mind and in trying to make sense of it all, I started to rhyme. I started to smile too, when I realized that I was creating a poem from my random thoughts. So I took at my blackberry phone, I never leave home without it and started to just jot down my thoughts and arranging them as I walked along the dark streets.

The poem is as much about my thoughts as it is about the streets of Roseau itself... Those of you who know the city at nights may attest to that once you've read the poem. So here it is:

Street Walking

By Delroy Nesta Williams 

Street walking got me thinking,

Got me realizing,
That everything in life isn’t as it seems
And though we may look for the good all around,
Sometimes only the negative can be found...
It's times like these that we need to be strong...
When we feel like our world is crashing down...
When your screams go unheard,
Everyone is busy is their own world...
How can this be my reality?
So much negative encircles my positivity...
Street walking is leading me to this unknown destination,
The beginning of nowhere,
Hope I end up somewhere,
Where my tears of words will find the tissues of ears...
And life begins to make sense again...
My sole request as I make it thru these lonely streets and dark alleys,
That life won't leave me lonely...
That someone will join me along my journey...
To hold me up when I get knocked off my path,
To give me a joke when I need to laugh...
I'll return the favour too cause I know you'll need me soon,
When life tries to upset your mood...
Street walking got me listening to myself and the sound isn't good,
It is like speaking out loud but drowned out in a crowd...
Street walking gave me a chance to exhale,
Now I can breathe freely, inhibitions out of my system,
Putting things in perspective, no longer dejected,
Street walking works and all is not lost...
All is well, out of street walking comes a story to tell