Sunday 19 August 2012

Gedig sonder grense - a failed attempt

uit die binnewerke van my maag
breek daar 'n butterfly los toe ek hoor
ek moet 'n gedig sonder grense skryf
nou vir wat wil ek my tong se grense oorskry?
ek breek alreeds so baie reëls
kan ek nie vir eens binne perke bly?
ek raak nou moeg vir gedurig my sondes bely
ek's alreeds haaks en steeks
nou wil julle hê ek moet my arme taal
uit sy seams laat breek!
die butterfly hy fladder nou wild
want die fifteen minutes hardloop hele-mal te vinnig uit!
jirre dit vat lank om 'n gedig sonder grense te skryf
ek try blêrrie hard
om soes 'n kjênd van die streets te klink
dit kô nie naturally om op my gat te sit en dig nie
dêmmit!
gee my 'n fiets
gee my 'n wind
dis al hoe ek seemingly reguit kan dink!

18 augustus, helenvale poets' workshop

Wednesday 15 August 2012

The Arrow Lattice

This poem is inspired by the engraved pieces of ochre discovered at the Blombos caves situated on the Southern Cape coast. These pieces are dated to be about 75 000 years old and regarded as the oldest known art work and a clear sign that the people from Middle Stone Age  were functioning  and behaving cognitively in a modern and sophisticated way. Thanks to Simon Bannister who introduced me to this remarkable piece of history and initiating the process to engage poetically with the markings of the ancients. (The title of the poem is Simon's creation)



photo sourced from www.chrisknight.co.uk

 photo taken of the initial ideas of Simon Bannister's The Arrow Lattice


The Arrow Lattice

I look intently through

the Arrow Lattice
I
I see a thirst for line and movement
I
I
I see the first stirrings of a restless and
craving mind setting civilization's imagination aflame
I
I
I
I see the velocity of time
I see a hunger for rhythm and rhyme
I
I
I
I
i see the hand made to order and geometrize
i see the philosophies of the old and wise
I
I
I
I
I
I see the scribblings of an absent mind
i see the sweat of the daily grind
I
I
I
I
I
I
i see the whetting of the arrow
i see the net capturing freedom and flow
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
i see a species searching frantically for the satiation of their fears
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
i see a confrontation with loss
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I see a caged-in wildness
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
i see a lonely species
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
unravelling
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
yet
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
when i stand further i see
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
a window
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
a bridge
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
a language
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
a beauty
I
I
I
I
I
I
a togetherness
I
I
I
I
I
a conncectedness
I
I
I
I
I see the thoughtfulness of an involved mind
I
I
I
i see the integration of wonderment and order,
genius and desire
I
I
i see an aesthetic carved in awed respect for the gift of earth
I
i see
the
shaping
of
a
heart


i see    the      expansion         of            the                  universe

Tuesday 14 August 2012

don't take that away

theatrical innocence clings to the seats of the unavoidable audience
within the cavities feeling the sticky claustrophobia
            hanging onto the structures
            tightly woven into laughing genitalia

                                                rattle the Greeks' walls

            please let us not have age restrictions
            it discriminates against the adults who have impressionable souls and minds
                                                           
                                                            put a star on your cock
                                                                        birds are known to give stellar performances

                        don't steal my dignity

                        and of all things don't steal my lightness
between
                        me and you
                        a dance is churning e~l~e~c~t~r~i~c~i~t~y


            please don't take away
            the warmth between us

and,
            and,
                        and
                                                            the intent look
                                                            don't take that away