25 September 2012

THE GATHERING OF THE STORM

THE GATHERING OF THE STORM  
© Farouk Asvat


The Tilling Of The Earth

Our sons
Found strength
In their fists.

But there was no sanctuary
As they hunted us
Like Khoi and San
Took buckshot bodies
Wrapped in refuse bags
Sliced into simba trucks
Frozen in i and j abattoirs
Dripping in blood

Till our ashen streets
Congealed maroon blood
And our mothers
Knew no more tears.


The Call Of The Wind

The night is quiet.
There are no rape screams
And the poets are asleep
Having fed on each others' souls
The wine caskets empty
The words run dry

Outside, in the leaves
Is the call of the wind
Stirring
From the eerie depths of the earth.


The Gathering Of The Fire

Love kept us at home,
Looking for angry young men.

But now,
Quiet, tired, afraid,
We fumble in the dark
For the gathering of the fire
Before the dawn comes
Cold, the colour of blood


© farouk asvat

composed: 1976 [Johannesburg, South Africa under apartheid]

[] Acknowledgements:

The Gathering Of The Storm was previously published in:

     The Time Of Our Lives (black thoughts publications, p92, 1982);
     Exiles Within (Writers' Forum, Cape Town, p5, 1985);
     The Indicator (Caxton, p26, 27-31.05.1986);
     A Celebration of Flames (Heller Fund, UC Berkeley, California, p19, 1988);
     The Time Of Our Lives (piquant publications, p86, 2007);
     www.faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com (25.09.2012);
     The Time Of Our Lives (kindle, 2014);
     The Time Of Our Lives (amazon paperback, p86, 2014).
______________________________________________________________
[§] 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)
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
______________________________________________________________
© 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 @:





books by farouk asvat: www.faroukasvat-books.blogspot.com

[] also link up on:






amazon kindle author @ www.amazon.com/author/faroukasvat

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is now available on amazon: in paperback @ $15 & kindle @ only $5
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1 comment:

  1. Strong direct poetry, what we need now. Maybe always.

    ReplyDelete