Lovise Bennett loved words She played with them She ate them up for breakfast served with roasted breadfruit ackee and saltfish She swallowed each word whole When it came to speaking Louise's words got stuck in her throat But she found a way to unlock them Her pen was the key and her notebook the door ding
At school Louise's teacher thought that words had to click like clacking wheels and that sentences should line up like the tramcar tracks in Kingston Louise got good grades but she wanted more A May 1 1928 I wish I wished that I could be A poet great and with my pen Trace paths of peace and harmony for the uncertain minds of men Louise
