the women
in my family
never imagined Germany,
anywhere except
in 1943. Kingston
my little girl, mother, walking past the internment camp and
sudden pink fingers shove a porcelain doll through the fence.
she plays with it for years until the red hair fades –lets go in clumps.
in my family
never imagined Germany,
anywhere except
in 1943. Kingston
my little girl, mother, walking past the internment camp and
sudden pink fingers shove a porcelain doll through the fence.
she plays with it for years until the red hair fades –lets go in clumps.
the women
in my family
never imagined Germany,
anywhere, not even
in 1948. Kingston harbour
heaps of people, boarding the Windrush. no one knows that the ship
was called the Monte Rosa. transported Norwegian Jews to Auschwitz
and Norwegian women to breed Aryan babies in Germany.
the women
in my family
never imagined Germany,
anywhere, except
in 1949. Havana
Grandma rolls cigars at H. Upmann, a German- owned factory until
her fingers are orange and the revolution starts. then she flees with all
her savings stitched into the hem of a crinoline skirt by then,
my mum has gotten a good education dressed in all the latest fashions
in my family
never imagined Germany,
anywhere, not even
in 1948. Kingston harbour
heaps of people, boarding the Windrush. no one knows that the ship
was called the Monte Rosa. transported Norwegian Jews to Auschwitz
and Norwegian women to breed Aryan babies in Germany.
the women
in my family
never imagined Germany,
anywhere, except
in 1949. Havana
Grandma rolls cigars at H. Upmann, a German- owned factory until
her fingers are orange and the revolution starts. then she flees with all
her savings stitched into the hem of a crinoline skirt by then,
my mum has gotten a good education dressed in all the latest fashions
the women
in my family
never imagined Germany,
anywhere, except
in 2002. Witzenhausen
i am marrying a dreadlocked German hippy. my mother stands proud in front
of the medieval townhall, despite threatening me years before that if I ever
married a Rasta man home she would disown me.
the women
in my family
never imagined Germany,
anywhere, except
in 2023. Freiburg
grandma sounds a bit tipsy, cooing trans-Atlantic love to the kids
an afternoon radio talk show crackles in the background, and we are all shouting
the kids know th is has more to do with old people’s habit than with faulty technology.
in my family
never imagined Germany,
anywhere, except
in 2002. Witzenhausen
i am marrying a dreadlocked German hippy. my mother stands proud in front
of the medieval townhall, despite threatening me years before that if I ever
married a Rasta man home she would disown me.
the women
in my family
never imagined Germany,
anywhere, except
in 2023. Freiburg
grandma sounds a bit tipsy, cooing trans-Atlantic love to the kids
an afternoon radio talk show crackles in the background, and we are all shouting
the kids know th is has more to do with old people’s habit than with faulty technology.
the women
in my family
never imagined Germany,
anywhere, except
now in 2024. Kingston
my teenage daughter and i are in line at the immigration office,
excited, giggling and sweating. she wants to take a break from Germany and
is overjoyed she might be able to study physics at U.W.I. it should do her good.
in my family
never imagined Germany,
anywhere, except
now in 2024. Kingston
my teenage daughter and i are in line at the immigration office,
excited, giggling and sweating. she wants to take a break from Germany and
is overjoyed she might be able to study physics at U.W.I. it should do her good.
*The Windrush was originally a German passenger ship that left the shipyard
in 1930 under the name Monte Rosa. In the beginning, it was a cruise ship
for "Kraft durch Freude" (Strength through enjoyment) voyages; in World War
II it served as a troop transporter. Starting in 1942, it transported
deported Norwegian Jews and abducted Norwegian women and children for the
Nazi’s Lebensborn program. The British Navy took the ship as a spoil of war
in 1945 and christened it HMT "Empire Windrush". She made her only voyage to
the Caribbean to Kingston, Jamaica in 1948. On this occasion, about 500-800
Jamaicans workers boarded the ship having been recruited to work in
Britain.
Jasmine Tutum published her first poem in Kingston, Jamaica's Daily Gleaner at age 7. She is author of two recorded poetry albums "Share the Flame" (Universal Egg 2014), "The Other Others" (Jahtari, 2023). Her work has been published in "An Anthology of New Work by African Women Poets " (Lynne Rienner, 2013) and has been featured in Performance Research: A Journal of the Performing Arts (Volume 28, 2023). She is based in Freiburg, Germany, is the mother of two and works as an interdisciplinary artist.
Website: jasminetutum.com
Link to Jasmine's album: The Other Others
