KWEE Liberian Literary Magazine Jan. Iss. Vol. 0115 Apr Iss. Vol. 0415 | Page 11

Liberian Literary Magazine

Diaspora Poet

April Issue 0415

Althea Romeo-Mark

Streetsweeper
In this haven I clean
paths in parks, sweep
streets.
Red stains splatter the
ground
where berries fell after
last night’s storm.
They are not the blood
smears
of brothers accused of
betrayal.
Hear-say alone is
enough
to crush bones back
home.
I joyfully sweep up berry
seeds.
They are not broken
fingers, or toes.
I wash the walkway,
breathe in unpolluted air.
It is free of gasoline
fumes spewed
by military trucks
heading to frontier towns
to crush the voices of
discontent.
My heart dances with joy
at the sight of red stains,
not blood.
© Althea Romeo-Mark
11.10. 10
Off the Coast, Winter, 2011
www.off-the-coast.com

© Althea Mark-Romeo

Born in Antigua, West
Indies, Althea Romeo-Mark
is
an
educator
and
internationally published
writer who grew up in St.
Thomas, US Virgin Islands.
She has lived and taught in
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands,
USA, Liberia (1976-1990),
London, England (19901991), and in Switzerland
since 1991.
She
taught
at
the
University of Liberia (19761990). She is a founding
member of the Liberian
Association
of
Writers
(LAW) and is the poetry
editor
for
Seabreeze:
Journal
of
Liberian
Contemporary Literature.
She was awarded the
Marguerite Cobb McKay
Prize by The Caribbean
Writer in June, 2009 for
short story “Bitterleaf, (set
in Liberia).” If Only the
Dust Would Settle is her
last poetry collection.
She has been guest poets at
the International Poetry
Festival
of
Medellin,
Colombia(2010),
the

11

Kistrech
International
Poetry
Festival,
Kissi,
Kenya (2014) and The
Antigua
and
Barbuda
Review of Books 10th
Anniversary
Conference,
Antigua and Barbuda(2015)
She has been published in
the US Virgin Islands,
Puerto Rico, the USA,
Germany, Norway, the UK,
India, Colombia, Kenya,
Liberia and Switzerland.
More publishing history can
be found at her blog site:
www.aromaproductions.bl
ogspot.com