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

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)

http://simontothemax.blogspot.com/2011/09/mark-of-ancients.html

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

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