THERE IS A NEW SADNESS
© Farouk Asvat
There
is a new sadness
In
our voices:
Tired
and full of pain.
We
have seen it all before:
Ambulances
full of gunfire
Children
dying in the motion of playing
Smoke
and cinders in the cauldron
Of
our desires.
But
what do we have:
Stones
in our armoury,
Hope
in our breasts,
The
desire to die living
Dancing
in carnival carousels
Around
the flames of hope
And
destruction:
The
bonfire of our lives.
Just
what do we have
But
pain
Flowering
in our hearts:
Treacherous
trust of friendship,
Love
fading before the motions are over,
Friendship
dying in birth,
And
the eternal pain,
The
pain,
That
grows without eyes:
A
cracked skull
Oozing
brain,
Gnarled
trees of lust,
Surrealistic
dreams of alcoholic minds,
And
love for our land
Growing
through virgin
And
battered bodies:
So
come with your scythe,
Leave
your barren lands
And
your fertile women,
Come,
prophets of our townships,
Shebeendrunk
and godless,
Fatherless,
Born
of many fathers,
With
only one mother to suckle from,
Come,
all of you,
Dressed
in white shroud,
Black
fist raised to the skies,
In
defiance or bitterness
Or
determined predetermination,
AK
47 in the other hand,
Walk
through the mieliefields
Elephant
grass and minefields
Of
the usurped territories;
Harvest
again,
Claiming
kudu and protea
Antelope
horn and cheetah
Springbuck
and elephant
O
Nkulunkulu! O Modimo!
Help
us
So
that we may walk again
These
streets
And
these beaten paths,
Proud
of what is ours:
The
earth and the universe,
Scintillating
beachsand
Scattered
among the dark heavens,
The
whispering sea,
And
the sun,
Our
saviour and guide;
And
rain! rain!
Rain
on us
That
we may drink again
Fresh
water
Untainted
by blood
And
the sewer of human filth
© farouk asvat
composed: 1985 [Johannesburg, South Africa under
apartheid]
[] Acknowledgements:
There Is A
New Sadness was
previously published in:
A Celebration Of Flames, (donker, p63, 1987);
A
Celebration of Flames (Heller Fund, UC Berkeley, California, p53, 1988);
Er Heerst Weer Droefenis: Dutch translation by Irene Scheltes
(1989);
A Celebration Of Flames (piquant publications, p82,
2007);
www.faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com
(03.07.2012);
A Celebration Of Flames (kindle, 2014);
A Celebration Of Flames (amazon paperback, p80, 2014).
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
the NOVEL Sadness In The House Of Love by Farouk Asvat
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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
_______________________________________________________
ER HEERST WEER
DROEFENIS
Dutch
translation by © Irene Scheltes
Er heerst weer droefenis
In onze stem:
Vermoeid en vervuld
van pijn.
We hebben dit alles
al eerder gezien:
Ambulances vol
geweervuur,
Kinderen die sterven
in het vuur van hun spel,
Rook en sintels in de
heksenketel
van onze verlangens.
Maar wat bezitten
wij;
Stenen in ons
wapentuig,
Hoop in onze borst,
Het verlangen om
levend te sterven,
Dansend in
kermiscarrousels
Rond de vlammen van
hoop
En verwoesting:
Het vreugdevuur van
ons leven.
Wat bezitten we
anders
Dan pijn
Bloeiend in ons hart:
Verraderlijk
vertrouwen in vriendschap,
Liefde kwijnend voor
het liefdesspel eindigt,
Vriendschap die bij
geboorte sterft,
En de eeuwige pijn,
De pijn,
Die groeit zonder ogen:
Een verbrijzelde schedel
Druipende hersens,
Knoestige bomen van lust,
Surrealistische
dromen van beschonken geesten,
En liefde voor ons
land
Groeiend in
maagdelijke
Afgeleefde lijven;
Dus kom met je zeis,
Verlaat je dorre streken
En je vruchtbare vrouwen
Kom, profeten van
onze townships,
Stille drinkers en
goddelozen,
Vaderlozen,
Uit vele vaders
geboren,
Met slechts één
zogende moeder,
Komt allen,
In wit doodskleed
gehuld
Zwarte vuist naar de hernel geheven,
In verzet of
bitterheid
Of voorbeschikt door
't lot,
AK 47 in de andere
hand,
Loop door de
mielievelden
Door olifantsgras en
mijnenvelden
Van de bezette gebieden,
Haal de oogst weer binnen,
Eis kudu en protea
Antilope-hoorn en cheetah
Springbok en
olifant
O Nkulunkulu! O Modimo!
Help ons
Zodat we weer kunnen
lopen
In deze straten
Op deze platgetreden
paden
Trots op wat van ons
is;
De aarde en het universum,
Glinsterend strandzand
Over donk're hemelen
gestrooid,
De fluisterende zee,
En de zon
Onze redder en gids,
En pula! pula!
Laat regen op ons
stromen
Zodat we weer kunnen
drinken
Vers water
Niet besmet door
bloed
En de beerput van menselijk drek.
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
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
#love #literature #fiction #novel #poetry
#southafrica #apartheid #books #classics
#faroukasvat #weapons of words #comparative
literature #literary criticism
# a celebration of flames # there is a new sadness
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