Read Yuh Ting TOO
For the second time running “Read Yuh TingToo” Poetry Contest was hosted by the West Indian Women Network (WIWN) and PlentyTalent.com This edition saw 9 contestants from, Jamaica, the Virgin Islands, and Trinidad and Tobago. Once again the standard of delivery was very high proving the art form of poetry in the Caribbean is in afreat place.
Emerging as the event’s winner was Linette Rabsatt with her reading of “DeStress”. Second place was captured by Kevin Grant “The Pen and the Sword” and in third was Carlana Neverson with her reading of “Inner Voices”. Interestingly enough the event also included a People’s Choice winner which was voted by the live audience. Carlana emerged as the audience favourite on the night. The prizes for the event were courtesy West Indian Women Network and Passionate Words Editing Service. We have PlentyTalent.com, A Better Life, Royal Castle TT, George Rampersad, GPA, and Caribbean Social Media. A lucky member of the live audience also received a surprise prize for answering a skills testing question shared.
The winner Lynette is a Virgin Islands poet with roots in the BVI and USVI who began writing in 1996 after being encouraged by Dr. Vincent Cooper at the University of the Virgin Islands. Since then, she has amassed over 400 poems. You can find her work in her 2023 Kindle book, “Be Inspired: Poems by Linette Rabsatt,” on her blog “Words of Ribbon,” in “Virgin Islands Callaloo: Poems from the Caribbean,” and on the Visual Verse and Micromance Magazine websites. She performs at local events, and online poetry readings and was nominated for a 2024 National Spoken Words Award for Best International Artist .Upon winning Lynette expressed her mantra as wanting to inspire the world with her words. In sharing her poetry globally she inspires to evoke awareness and share positive vibes.
De-stress
life is full of tests
it’s almost like a
crazy contest with no context
and you spend most of the time
being frustrated and vexed
feeling stressed and distressed
with no avenues to de-stress
but I must confess
that sometimes the best defense
against stress
is to ignore the mess
and take time and invest
in just feeling and doing your best
because every day is another test
and whether you run
from the east to the west
somewhere there’s going to be a pest
something will make you feel hopeless
someone will be ghetto or classless
and you still have to smile
like you’re feeling the best
like you’re living a lavish life of richness
but maybe I digressed because
living at your best
is where you get past the emptiness
so find your happiness
even if it’s only temporary
and has no permanence
but remember – conflict unaddressed
is another ingredient for distress
so you have to use your common sense
challenges are the causes of stress
but that doesn’t mean the outcome
won’t be the best
because stress also has its goodness
when you get that feeling
sometimes you just have to
consider forgiveness
and yes – just take a rest
from the conflict and distress
from the nonsense and pettiness
from the major media madness
maybe just mind your business
walk away and just
and focus your time and invest
in yourself
© Linette Rabsatt