Dorretta Hemmings -

Dedicated to Dorretta Hemmings

I'm resting in the rhythms of your giggles
when I'm envisioning sitting on the blue settee drinking coffee
and you're sitting in your leather armchair
drinking tea from your 'Mum' mug with one sugar.
Sometimes you called me Manda
and sometimes I called you Mama.
We relayed off each other's drum beats
as the volumes of our laughter became louder.
You would ask me, 'what do you want for dinner?'
You're the best chef I know,
I rest in kitchen breakfast aromas of you serving up saltfish fritters
for me and my brother,
I remember your servings of Saturday soup we slurped
as we sat around the round dining table.

You are home for me.

You are my travel partner to charity shops and market stalls,
You are my prayer partner,
You are the one that would say, 'I pray for you every day.'
You are my encourager to stay close to each dream until they take off
and you're always with me in the air balloon celebrating each achievement.

Every few months you'd say, 'what day can you put some rollers in my hair?'
You'd sit in the chair and I'd prep your curly perm,
I'd part your beautiful black strands
and you'd pass me the rods with the hands that you past onto me.
We'd reminisce on times gone by -
like the time we went to Stratford Upon Avon
and the sun smothered us,
we tried to find shade whilst we watched random acts
and we took a photograph of our happiness in front of a pink Cadillac.

You used to message me
when you saw something you knew I'd want to see on TV -
like two months ago you told me there was something about Billie on the BBC.

I loved listening to you proudly sharing with me recently how you love to pray
and that you believe God has given you this as a gift.
You recently told me -
You've been praying for me that God will give me peace.
You keep teaching me to rise above the storms.

You make me want to be a better woman, Dorretta Marcia -
sweet little girl with the tied white ribbons who came over from Jamaica,
who became a loving Mother to a son and a daughter
and a loving Grandmother to two granddaughters.

Thanks for being my best friend,
Your perseverance and faith are giving me strength.

Amanda Hemmings