Fred D'Aguiar is a writer and professor. His work is inspired by the history and politics of Guyana, where he spent his childhood. Cultural activist.
 

She made us settle our feet on the mud   

Floor of her daub and wattle hut and she   

Wielded a cane cut from wood that bit   

Into the palm of the hand and left a burn   

That resonated up the arm for an age   

After its smart swing and crisp contact.  

Worst of all was the shoe cupboard   

Where the old man stored his wire   

Brushes: a cold, dark, narrow place,  

Replete with brushes hung on nails   

Covering every square inch and said   

To come alive when a child was locked

  

— ROYGBIV by Fred D'Aguilar