11 September 2012

THEY SAY STEVE BIKO IS DEAD

THEY SAY STEVE BIKO IS DEAD  
© Farouk Asvat  

     "And do not say of those who are killed in the way of Allah,
      they are dead.  But they live.  But you do not perceive."
          • Quran 2:154  

They say Steve Biko is dead.

     But there were nine silences on the Island
     Seven million grudges in the land
     There were 25 million deaths
          in the heart of the country
     There was the dignified silence of his wife
     The silenced silences of his friends
     The unspeakable silence of his mother

     When his nation broke down in grief
    
          When his skull cracked in defiance
          When he fought against his jailers
          In the loving arms of the captain's city

They say Steve Biko is dead.

     But the ghost of your pleasant face
     Still hovers over the hills of the highveld
     Where the full red moon of Mao ZeDong
     Once hovered over the hills of the highveld

          Even after you took your last journey
          To your first death
          In the back of a police van
          Through a thousand kilometres
          Of brutalised countryside
          Even after you took your first journey
          To your last death
          In the back of an oxwagon
          Through the colonised streets
          Of the apprehensive white town.

They say Steve Biko is dead.

     But still he lives amongst our decisions
          Even if old enemies try to claim him
          in the supreme court of injustice
          Even if old friends try to claim him
          in Tutu's roving circus

They say Steve Biko is dead.

     But still he gives voice to the voiceless

          Even if reformists with expensive houses
          And opportunists with red mercedeses
          And tribalists with little pieces of land
          And black journalists with white voices
          Try to claim him

They say Steve Biko is dead.

     But still he denies them
     These charlatans
     Disguised as revolutionaries
     Still he defies them
     These uncle toms
     Camouflaged in exclusive suits.

They say Steve Biko is dead.

          But Peter Gabriel gives voice to him
          on the international stage
          Miami Vice gives voice to him
          on state television
          Riaan Malan gives voice to him
          in My Traitor's Heart
          A court case gives voice to him
          in the heart of the country
          A video gives voice to him
          in the homes of the oppressed
          Cry Freedom gives voice to him
          in the cinemas of the world
          And an opera gives voice to him
          in the theatres of England.

They say Steve Biko is dead.

But still I give voice to him
Even though my first Biko poem
Was disappeared
Buried in his earth at Zinyoka
But still I give voice to him
Resurrecting his living spirit
Nourishing the earth
That lives where he lives.

And still
They say Steve Biko is dead.


© farouk asvat

[] composed: 12.09.1977 - upon the assassination of Steve Biko in prison:

     12.09.1977 [Johannesburg, South Africa under apartheid];
      (12.09.1987 [Netherlands; South Africa under apartheid]);
     (12.09.1987 [Berkeley; South Africa under apartheid]);
     (12.09.1995 [Kimberley, South Africa under apartheid]).

[] Acknowledgements:
They Say Steve Biko Is Dead was previously published in:
     The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs (piquant publications, p118-121, 2006).
          on the 35th commemoration of the assassination of Steve Biko in prison.
     The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs (kindle, 2014);
     The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs (amazon paperback, p115-118, 2014).

The original poem was confiscated by the Security Police at the Zanempilo Community Clinic in Zinyoka,
on 19 October 1977, during the nationwide raids on Black Consciousness organizations,
the banning of its organisations, the closure of its clinics and publications, and the imprisonment of its members. 

     have you read? : I Write What I Like by Steve Biko
___________________________________________________________________________
[§] Books by Farouk Asvat:

Sadness In The House Of Love (novel)
The Gathering Of The Storm (novel)
I Dream In Long Sentences (poetry)
The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs (poetry)
A Celebration Of Flames (poetry)
The Time Of Our Lives (poetry)
This Masquerade (short stories)
Bra Frooks … (poetry)*
The Paanies Are Coming (short stories)*
In The House Of Love (novel)*
Weapons Of Words (comparative literature & literary criticism)

¨ all my books are now available on amazon: in paperback & kindle
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___________________________________________________________________________
© farouk asvat.  All rights reserved.
Farouk Asvat asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, or transmitted in any form or any means whatsoever, mechanical or electronic, including recording, printing, photocopying, or via any computerised means or media, including the internet.  This publication shall also not be stored in a retrieval system.  And the writing shall not be sold, lent, hired, resold or circulated in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published,
without the prior permission of the author in writing.
Permission to publish or reproduce the writings in any format can be obtained from the author.
Reproduction of this work without permission, except for scholarly & nonprofit purposes,
is liable to a payment of 10, 000 ren men bi or US$ 1,500.
farouk asvat can be contacted at: farouk.asvat@gmail.com
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the NOVEL Sadness In The House Of Love by Farouk Asvat
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