MY DEEPEST SORROW
© Farouk
Asvat
My deepest sorrow
Lies within you:
In the flutter of your abdomen
In the warm dove of your hand
Nestling against your face:
A festival of honey
Dripping with sadness.
Now that the stars have revolved,
Your ululating hand
Struts a pleasant goodbye
Knowing the dead bodies
That lie between us:
Years that took me
Through a heartache of foreignland
That left my body
Without substance,
A ghost of memories
That can never return us
To the garden of our hearts
© farouk asvat
composed: 1985 [johannesburg, south africa under #apartheid
]
[§] 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
___________________________________________________________________________
¨ 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
___________________________________________________________________________
● MIJN DIEPST VERDRIET
Dutch translation by © Irene Scheltes
Mijn diepst verdriet
Ligt in jou:
In het trillen van je buik
In de warme duif van je hand
Die zich nestelt tegen je gezicht:
Een festival van honing
Druipend van droefheid.
Nu de sterren zijn gekeerd,
Stut je jammerende hand
Een aangenaam afscheid
In 't besef van de lijken
Die tussen ons liggen:
Jaren die mi j voerden
Door hartzeer van een vreemdland
Dat mijn lichaam
Zonder substantie liet,
Een spook vol herinneringen,
Die ons nooit terug kunnen ?leiden
Naar de tuin van ons hart
Dutch translation by kind permission of © Irene Scheltes
___________________________________________________________________________
● Η ΒΑΘΙΑ ΜΟΥ ΛΥΠΗ
Greek
translation by © Paulos Ioannou
Η βαθύτερη λύπη μου
Είναι για σένα:
Στο φτερούγισμα της κοιλιάς σου
Στο ζεστό περιστέρι του χεριού σου
Που φωλιάζει απάνω στο πρόσωπό σου:
Μια γιορτή μελιού
Που στάζει θλίψη.
Τώρα που τα αστέρια έχουν περιστραφεί,
Το θλιμμένο χέρι σου
Καμαρώνει ένα ευχάριστο αντίο
Γνωρίζοντας τα πτώματα
που βρίσκονται ανάμεσά μας:
Χρόνια που τα πέρασα
Μέσα από μια στενοχώρια σε ξένη χώρα
Αποξενωμένος
Χωρίς ουσία,
Ένα φάντασμα αναμνήσεων
Που δεν μπορεί ποτέ να μας επιστρέψει
Στον κήπο της καρδιάς μας
Greek translation by kind permission of © Paulos Ioannou
___________________________________________________________________________
[] acknowledgements:
My Deepest Sorrow was
previously published in:
A Celebration Of
Flames (donker, p52, 1987);
A Celebration of Flames (heller fund, uc berkeley, california, usa, p44,
1988);
Mijn Diepst
Verdriet: Dutch translation
by Irene Scheltes (1989);
Η ΒΑΘΙΑ ΜΟΥ ΛΥΠΗ
: Greek translation by Paulos
Ioannou (2022);
A Celebration Of
Flames (piquant publications, p53, 2007);
A
Celebration Of Flames (kindle, 2014);
A
Celebration Of Flames (amazon paperback, p53,
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.
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
the NOVEL Sadness
In The House Of Love by Farouk Asvat
is now available on amazon: in
paperback @ $20 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
#love #literature #fiction
#novel #poetry #southafrica #apartheid #books #classics
#faroukasvat #weapons #of
#words #comparative #literature #literary #criticism
#a #celebration #of #flames #my #deepest #sorrow
● poems @ https://faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com
● linkedin @ https://www.linkedin.com/in/farouk-asvat-52a6b642
● wikipedia @ https://en.everybodywiki.com/Farouk_Asvat
● all my books @ https://www.amazon.com/author/faroukasvat
● 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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