Poetry In Motion For Julien Alfred

Kishma Serieux is a published poet, spoken word artist, and journalist who often uses her words to inspire and inform.

And while her words sometimes evoke emotion from the innermost parts of others, she recently found herself jolted into a whirlwind of emotions herself.

It happened in all but 10.72 seconds as Julien Alfred crossed the finish line of the 100-metre race at the Paris Olympics to capture gold, a first for Saint Lucia.

Kishma Serieux told St. Lucia Times that it was with tears of joy that she decided to pen “Inspire You,” a spoken word ode to Alfred.

“I think the piece pretty much wrote itself,” Serieux started to relate to St. Lucia Times when asked.

“I sat and I watched the race, I watched the response of persons around me during the race, I watched the response on various WhatsApp statuses, I watched parties across the island and I found myself crying and so many people can relate to that,” she revealed.

“In that one moment, there was just one feeling across the country. It was just pure bliss, pure joy, pure jubilation and it was amazing to me and I thought to myself how can I capture that, how can I immortalise that feeling. So that was the basis for the piece,” she explained.

According to Serieux, she wanted to create something holistic in its delivery.

“I wanted to create something that spoke of Julien Alfred’s achievements in its entirety.  I wanted the piece to acknowledge all who contributed to what it was that she did, what it was she accomplished,” she said.

“Her achievement is so phenomenal, so huge, so gargantuan, that there is more than enough space to share it with everybody, without taking away from how epic it really, really was,” Serieux said.

The writer told St. Lucia Times that she observed children, including her own daughter, who became instantly inspired by Alfred’s success.

“I watched how she changed the way that persons saw themselves, I watched the way she inspired children to dream past what they could see, because sometimes you need a physical representation of what is possible. I think she encapsulated that so beautifully and yes she is inspirational, she is energy in motion, she is just a barrage of feelings and emotions that she is able to pull out from you and I am very proud and happy with what Julien Alfred has accomplished,” the writer stated.

Kishma Serieux’s ‘Inspire You’ is accessible at: https://vimeo.com/1007865593?share=copy