Here they come!
I got my sheet ready. In it to win it
We begin to talk but all I’m doing is waiting
He’s gonna say at least one on the list
Now we reach the point in the conversation
Is he going to say it?
Will he say it?
I am on the edge of my seat
The silence settles to the point you can hear a pin drop
“Where you from, boss? India?”
THERE IT IS, HE SAID IT!
I look to my list, and sure as ever
I3 is Indian! I feel like I can win this!
The sheet was full of different countries
Spread across the Caribbean, South Asia, and the Middle East
Nowhere on the list were places I called home
Nowhere on this bingo sheet was somewhere I was from
Every customer had a guess, I just had to wait to see if they were brave enough to tell me
Oh, here comes the next
The conversation starts, I got my hand ready
We go over the basics, but I can see it in her eyes
She wants to say it, and I don’t blame her
The Caribbean music is traveling through her ears
The beats of the drum are telling her something
What was it? What is the music telling her?
“Ahhhh, you a Trini, right?!”
AND SHE SAID IT! THAT’S ANOTHER ONE ON THE SHEET!
The joy could be seen on my face as I marked down another,
But the joy from hers vanished as I corrected her
She made it seem like there was one correct answer
This game went on for hours. People trying to guess what I was
So many guesses, but none of them were right
What was I going for today? Bingo? Or a full sheet? Did I win anything?
What were the prizes?
None really, there’s nothing I gain from this
Just the opportunity to tell people where I am from
“I am from Guyana, boss. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Comments