Young birds can be tamed

easily but never attain

the deep scarlet plumage

of the free bird. Adults

lose their brilliant colour

in captivity. Persecution

and violence have had an

effect upon the scarlet ibis,

in making it watchful and

retiring. Knowing without

knowing, truly unknown. - from ‘The Scarlet Ibis’

Here’s a screenshot from the film poem featuring my work done by Soraya Moolchan and Israel Ramjohn which was shown last week in London at The Poetry Review’s Summer Issue launch.

Special thanks to Peter Minshall for lending me the mask from his 2006 band ‘The Sacred Heart’. More than a decade after that band, issues of bigotry, homophobia and hate are, sadly, still live today.

Photo by Israel Ramjohn/Hototo Films.

#poetry #filmpoem #ibis #scarlet #books #scarletibis #poetryreview #birdwatching #birdwatchingphotography #caribbean #lgbtq #trinidad #literature (at Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago)