20 March 2012

SAD AND QUIZZICAL

SAD AND QUIZZICAL  
© Farouk Asvat  

Your quizzical eyes,
Round, and sad like the world,
Will always bring me back
To caress with rose-petal lips
Those lips holding back mysteries;
Your face taut,
Even now,
As we come together

How sad
Your sadness must be
To leave the eternal walk around the fire
For promises of children
Dancing to a distant anthem

'There is someone who loves you'
Bluegums whisper to me
Watching the festival of sunset

But in the shadow of pines
In the dangling dew of dawn
I ask of so many things:
But the wind is silent
Smelling of rainstorm

And the waves on the lake
Keep coming and going.

How terrible and brief was your desire
How turgid and tense:
Sadness that drowned the sea in your eyes
Black waters still and distant and unfathomable

© farouk asvat

composed: 1985 [johannesburg, south africa under #apartheid ]
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[§] 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 (literary criticism)

¨ all my books are now available on amazon: in paperback & kindle
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¨ A CELEBRATION OF FLAMES by FAROUK ASVAT
               § WINNER OF THE VITA AWARD

""A Celebration of Flames" is a powerful, impassioned call. The sanity and courage of this collection arises from the poet's unique experiential perceptions of his milieu, making him one of the few who can write about these traumatic times with such lucidity and lyricism. The strength of Farouk Asvat's poetry lies in the way he intertwines the complex elements of social and political conflicts with intense personal relationships. The wide tonal range extends from sensual and delicate insights into the nature of passion to the satiric and humorous use of slang."
Vita Award citation

"Like hesitating snowflakes his words are fascinating in their capricious wilfulness - like unexpected strokes of a whip."
Susanne Baackmann, University Of Albuquerque, USA

"His love poetry soars with an intense sensitivity, it celebrates lyrically the joys of a most exquisite sensuousness."
● Marcia Leveson, University Of The Witwatersrand, The Indicator

""A Celebration of Flames" (is) a powerful, impassioned call.  I admire the sanity and courage of this.  Your position and perception make you one of the few who can write on this subject without obscenity."
● Lionel Abrahams, editor Purple Renoster & Sesame

"The legend of poet extraordinaire Farouk Asvat: - like vintage wine, proper poetry matures with time, and like vintage art the voice and wisdom of a poet worth the name is timeless."
● Mphutlane wa Bofelo, kagablog

"you almost catch your breath at some of the stanzas - you can re-read it several times and be struck by new ideas, metaphors, elegiac surprises, and the heartfelt poignancy "
● Aggrey Klaaste, editor Sowetan

"Out of an angry silence, a polished poet is born."
● Anton Harber, editor Weekly Mail
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DROEF SPOTTEND  

     Dutch translation by © Irene Scheltes  

Je spottende ogen,
Rond, en droef als de wereld,
Zulen mij altyijd terugveroen
Om te kozen met rozenlippen
Deze lippen die mysteries verbergen
Je gezicht strak gespannen
Zelfs nu,
Nu we samen zijn

Hoe droef
Moet je droefenis wezen
Om de eeuwige gang rond het vuur te staken
Vanwege beloften van kinderen
Dansend op een lied van verre.

'Er is iemand die van je houdt'
Fluistert de eucalyptus me toe
Als ik kijk hoe de zon feestelijk ondergaat

Maar in de schaduw de pijnboom
In de drupp'lende dauw van de dageraad
Vrag ik me zoveel af:
De wind ligt stil
Geur van regenstorm

En de golven van het meer komen en gaan.

Hevig en kortstondig was je verlangen
Overspannen en gespannen:
Droefenis verdronk de zee in je ogen
Nog altijd zwarte wateren en verweg en niet te peilen

     Dutch translation by kind permission of © Irene Scheltes  
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ΛΥΠΗΜΕΝΟ ΚΑΙ ΑΠΟΡΗΜΕΝΟΣ  

     Greek translation by © Paulos Ioannou 

Τα απορημένα μάτια σου,
Στρογγυλά, και λυπημένα όπως ο κόσμος,
Πάντα θα με φέρνουν πίσω
Να χαϊδεύσω με ροδοπέταλα  χείλη
Αυτά τα χείλη που συγκρατούν τα μυστήρια.
Το πρόσωπό σου τεντωμένο,
Ακόμη και τώρα,
Καθώς αγκαλιαζόμαστε

Πόσο θλιβερή
Η λύπη σου πρέπει να είναι
Να αφήσεις την αιώνια βόλτα γύρω από τη φωτιά
Για υποσχέσεις παιδιών
Χορεύοντας σε έναν μακρινό ύμνο

«Υπάρχει κάποιος που σε αγαπάει»
μου ψιθυρίζει ο Μαύρος
Παρακολουθώντας το φεστιβάλ του ηλιοβασιλέματος

Αλλά στη σκιά των πεύκων
Στην  αιωρούμενη δροσιά της αυγής
Ζητώ τόσα πολλά πράγματα:
Αλλά ο άνεμος είναι σιωπηλός
Μυρίζει καταιγίδα

Και τα κύματα της λίμνης έρχονται και φεύγουν.

Πόσο τρομερή και σύντομη ήταν η επιθυμία σου
Πόσο ταραχώδης και τεταμένη:
Θλίψη που έπνιξε τη θάλασσα στα μάτια σου
Μαύρα νερά ακίνητα και μακρινά και ανεξιχνίαστα

     Greek translation by kind permission of © Paulos Ioannou
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[] acknowledgements:
Sad And Quizzical was previously published in:
A Celebration of Flames (donker, p42, 1987);
A Celebration of Flames (heller fund, uc berkeley, california, usa, p35, 1988);
Droef Spottend: Dutch translation by Irene Scheltes (1988);
ΛΥΠΗΜΕΝΟ ΚΑΙ ΑΠΟΡΗΜΕΝΟΣ : Greek translation by © Paulos Ioannou (2022);
A Celebration of Flames (piquant publications, p56, 2007);
A Celebration Of Flames (kindle, 2014);
A Celebration Of Flames (amazon paperback, p56, 2014).
© 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 yuan (ren men bi) or US$1,500.

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the NOVEL Sadness In The House Of Love by Farouk Asvat
is now available on amazon: in paperback @ $20 & kindle @ only $5
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#love #literature #fiction #novel #poetry #southafrica #apartheid #books #classics
#faroukasvat #weapons #of #words #comparative #literature #literary #criticism
#a #celebration #of #flames #Sad #And #Quizzical


● BE A REVOLUTIONARY!

"Remember that the highest rank that the human species can reach is to be a revolutionary."
● Ernesto (Ché) Guevara

"Always be a poet, even in prose."
● Charles Baudelaire

"Read ten thousand books, and your pen will be guided as if by the gods."
● Ancient Chinese Proverb

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