To The Sea Poem by Suzanne Hayasaki

Go down to the sea
Let the feel of the heat
Of the sand beneath your feet
Restore your memory.

Regress
To tropical Sundays
With family friends
When you were too young
To imagine it would ever end.

Remember the smell of charcoal smoke.
Recall the taste of chicken jerked.
Listen for the band
And begin to dance.

Home is a place you escape to
In your heart
In your mind
It never leaves you, unless you let it.

So walk with me along the beach
And take me back with you
The way only you can do
With your stories and your voices and joy.

Let me feel the Jamaican sun on my face
Let me taste your mother's rice and peas.
Take me there with you now
So we can both forget how far we've come
And what we have given up
To be with the men we love.