THE CONTRAST STRIKES
© Farouk Asvat
on
the 9th commemoration of 16 june 1976
Yesterday:
In
the rustic surroundings
Of
the peripheral clinic,
Where
hunger lurks
In
the window panes of bleak houses
In
the eyes of mangy dogs
On
the backs of lean women
Picking
wild spinach
We
sat in the kitchen
Sharing
anecdotes and tea,
The
nurses and I,
Watching
them:
Springbok
Tours
Bringing
a happy contingent of tourists
Looking
through the safety of binoculars
From
the distance of a hill
At
the army of hippos and elephants
At
the excited mobs with molotovs
Fired
by the fiery emotions
Of
their adolescent adventures
Mixed
up somewhere
With
the desire for freedom,
Who
would not let these foreigners enter
Into
their cauldron of violence:
They
had to return
With
pink faces and terrified eyes
To
the security of their frightened homes
To
the neon streets of the tense city
Where
healthy girls flaunt bleached thighs
In
funereal fashions of pin-up skirts,
Astrut
in oblivion.
Today:
The pompous landlords gather
All over the city
In their happy best:
A father's day picnic
To watch implosions
Of cooling towers:
The concern for monuments
And the passing of a lordship
Etched on their bland faces,
Sipping champagne
On mayoral balconies
The rearview mirror
Reveals all
As I drive to Regina Mundi
Through the back roads of the townships
To commemorate the death of thousands,
The unknown soldiers of The Struggle
The contrast strikes
Like
a hint of congas
Invading a symphony of harps
As tension builds
And relieves
Like a swell of tides
Like clouds passing across a sunny day,
As brightly coloured hippos
Circle the church
In a taunting carousel
Of gleeful anticipation
As the people come out
Singing and dancing,
Only to gasp
With teargas-filled eyes
As strangers emerge
From their hovels
With tearing eyes
To offer wet cloths
Dipped in salt
To soothe our burning faces,
My aching lungs
Gasping for breath like a pigeon,
As we laugh at each other
At our common predicament
The dull thud of rubber bullets
The sharp crack of rifles
Smoke rising from teargas canisters,
A sneeze machine
Announcing another explosion of gas
Porcine faces laughing as they ride by
As we run
To safety again,
Every house a refuge now
Welcoming strangers
But soon
The children are out again
Taunting armoured casspirs
With little Black fists
Filled with pride
© farouk asvat
composed: 16 June 1985 [Johannesburg, South
Africa under apartheid]
[] Acknowledgements:
The Contrast
Strikes was previously
published in:
A Celebration Of Flames (donker,
p60, 1987);
The Indicator (Caxton, p26, 27-31.05.1986);
Saasm News 1(2) (SAASM, Boston, USA, p15, 1988);
A Celebration of Flames (Heller Fund, UC Berkeley, USA, p50, 1988);
Het Contrast is Treffend: Dutch translation by Irene Scheltes
(1989);
A Celebration of Flames (piquant publications, p76, 2007);
www.faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com
(31.07.2012);
A Celebration Of Flames (kindle, 2014);
A Celebration Of Flames (amazon paperback, p74, 2014).
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
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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
[] please check out my blogs @:
weapons of words: www.faroukasvat-viewpoint.blogspot.com
piquante: www.faroukasvat-piquant.blogspot.com
books by farouk asvat: www.faroukasvat-books.blogspot.com
[] also link up on:
google+: www.google.com/+faroukasvat
linkedin: www.linkedin.com/farouk-asvat
facebook: www.facebook.com/faroukasvat
youtube: www.youtube.com/c/faroukasvat
twitter: www.twitter.com/faroukasvat
_______________________________________________________
HET CONTRAST IS TREFFEND
bij de negende herdenking van 16
juni 1976
Dutch translation by © Irene Scheltes
In heel de stad
Komen Mlungu's bijeen
Op hun paasbest:
Een picknick op vaderdag
Kijken naar het neervallen
Van verkoelende torens:
De zorg voor monumenten
En de vergane glorie
Geëtst op hun minzaam gelaat
Terwijl zij van champagne nippen
Op balkons van burgemeesters
De achterkant van de spiegel
Legt alles bloot
Als ik naar Regina Mundi rijd
Door de achteraf-straten
Om de dood van duizenden te
herdenken
Het contrast is treffend
Zoals het geraffel van
conga's
Die een symfonie van harpen verstoren
Spanning groeit
En ontlaadt zich
Als het zwellen der
getijden
Wolken trekken langs de
dag
Als nijlpaarden in heldere kleuren
Omcirkelen ze de kerk
In een hoge carrousel
Van een vrolijk voorgevoel
De mensen duiken op
Zingend en dansend
Om dan naar adem te snakken
Met ogen vol gas
Maar vreemden duiken op
Met tranende ogen
Zij geven natte doeken
In zout gedrenkt
Om het branden van onze
gezichten te verzachten
- Mijn pijnlijke longen
Snakkend naar adem als een duif -
En we lachen elkander toe
Om de hachelijke toestand
die we kennen
De doffe plof van rubberkogels
De scherpe klik van geweren
Rook die opstijgt uit traangaslopen
Al s een niesmachine
Kondigt een nieuwe
gasexplosie aan
Varkensgezichten lachen
onder het lopen
We rennen
Opnieuw naar veiligheid
Ieder huis een toevluchtsoord
Dat vreemden welkom heet
Maar weldra
Komen de kinderen
tevoorschijn
Om casspirs uit te jouwen
Met vuisten gevuld
met trots
Dutch translation by kind permission
of © Irene Scheltes
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
the NOVEL Sadness In The House Of Love by Farouk Asvat
is now available on amazon: paperback @ $15 &
kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
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#faroukasvat #a celebration of flames #the contrast strikes #contrast #strikes
