BY BREANNA BURKE (staff writer)

Picture from the film “Rockers”
There is a silence that moves,
a warmth that holds us as we tear the mirror apart,
breaking the raging quiet into pieces
and consuming its fire.
Here is a story on the silver screen,
Jamaica on display, her people radiating her fiery spirit
as the reggae beat pulsates,
captivates the masses
and rocks their souls to the rhythm.
Is this the beauty that makes us?
It sure shines boldly in the limelight.
I am seeing myself for the first time in this cinema,
Perhaps I am also a writer of this film,
To be perceptive of its aura is to acknowledge
that I am also a part of this magic.
Jamrock on the big screen,
my mother cries beside me and even though I am only nine,
my soul weeps with her.
We are both strangers to this culture now reconciled.
We feel the pulse of the rhythm everywhere.
And sometimes when it hits us,
grabs our heart as we watch these films,
we hold onto it.
And pray that it never leaves us.