Carnival Comes To You Poem by Ifi Amadiume

Carnival Comes To You
Surprisingly they jumped me on a standing train
Seeing me colorfully suited to the sounding of the day,
Dressed to the drumbeat of Notting Hill carnival.
Even then nothing like seeing girls covered in beaded
Scanty tops, deliberately made elaborately intense,
Beautifully tattooed smooth black skins suited for it.
The body knows itself what fits it.
White girls seemingly quiet at first,
Faces dug into open books, soon losing focus with waists beginning
Slowly to move, breaking rigidity as entire carnival whiners
Jumping me on a circle line train as if to say if you don't
Go to carnival here we are,
Carnival comes to you our African Sista,
Saying it is just once a year,
Come see what we've got,
Round and round in endless circles is not
The place for we,
Come walk and whine the waist with we,
Steel pan of steel band calls,
Mangrove Mas band calls,
Wind, wind, wind the waist with we,
Boom, boom, boom, shaking the earth.
Me taking to the train looking to unwind,
Hear me now saying see you all at Notting Hill Carnival.

Then I see this one that must have been coming back already from
Notting Hill Carnival,
His flower patterned shirt now running redder in front
Hangs loose on saggy pants once something of a fancy pant,
Disheveled hair like spikes dyed jet black shooting up
In the air,
The body says it all though in new decisive swagger,
Showing Carnival giving him back something purposeful
Of his own,
Stronger now for a new day to again confidently
Walk these streets,
Streets usually somber these days,
Beaten down by endlessly lying politicians and
Their punitive austerity measures, we find a bit of
Fresh air to fill up our empty dry lungs,
So you see us exuding new energy dancing, shouting,
In awakened streets again reassured by daring moves,
Boom, boom, boom, shaking the earth,
Not the assortment of DJs, not the mountainous
Giant sound systems,
Just I and I the natural self giving off enormous
Vibes, energizing an entire train all the way
To Notting Hill Carnival!

(Ifi Amadiume, London, August 26,2019)