KWEE Liberian Literary Magazine Jan. Iss. Vol. 0115 Jan Iss. Vol. 0115 | Page 24

Liberian Literary Magazine

Diaspora Poet

January Issue 0115

Althea Romeo-Mark

We Do Not Cry For
Meat
Yesterday we ate rice
and palm oil.
Today we are eating
rice and palm oil.
Tomorrow we will eat
rice and palm oil.
We eye our bloated
bellies
in the shadow of the
kitchen fire,
and though not old
enough
pretend we are with
child,
pretend our fallen
teeth will grow,
pretend our limbs are
fat
can bear our large
tummies
but we wobble when
we walk
and do not cry for
meat
for the dry land has
snatched
our cattle and left us
only bones.
© 29.03.10 Althea MarkRomeo Published in
Dirtcakes
(www.dirtcakes.org)

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
20

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