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