Hard Time Bun Dung Tung Cham-ba-lay-lay Police a Cum

‘Aye!’
Cut some paw-peye stem
Bring some ole clart
An de bottle a kerosene
Bring de bamboo from under de house

Its excitement time
A small village fest
We call it chamba -lay -lay
A celebration at its best

Adults and yung'ns a bus paper bomb
Me uncle warming up de bambo
ba-dung’
To bus dung tong
Tonite fu shure, goin be clean traditional fun

Paw-peye stem drain
Clart tearin soun like fabric rain
Kerosene odour a linger
Match scratch
‘Muddo’
Wat pon fire…

Full de paw-peye stem wid oil
Dip de clart too
Stuff it in de stem to mek wick

Nite a dus een
Current garn
Picknie on de mudda hip
Chambalay in hard grip

Paint pan bangin
Starlite flickerin


In de far distance,
Hear de echoes of de bamboo
Are we marchin, dancin an prancin
Singin
Cham-ba-lay-lay police a cum
Cham-ba-lay-lay police a cum
Hard time bun dung tung




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Andrea Olivia Ottley was born and raised in the Federation of St.Kitts and Nevis. She is a mother of five children who enjoys motherhood as well as the kaleidoscope of life. She is a poet, a writer and a photographer who believes the world to be art in its natural and creative sense. She writes largely as a mean to comfort herself using native vernacular and vibrant descriptions to create her own voice and style in the world of Caribbean Literature.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

very cultural (y)

Sunshine said...

Ollie I love this! Chambalayylaayyy! :)

Anonymous said...

Wonderful Ollie!

Cleo said...

Kerosene odour a linger
Match scratch‘
Muddo’Wat pon fire…

Love all of it but dis part de best. All I can think of is "me arse, somebody gon get bun"

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