THERE IS TOO MUCH TO LEAVE
© Farouk
Asvat
There is too much to leave
The blood of growing up
The call of the ancestors
The longing for your hardened tones
The feel of cinnamon loam
But the sea keeps whispering
And the banjo keeps strumming
And the heart keeps forming
words
Trapped by the hardened lips
And the heart,
Cloaked in onionpeels of steel
Caught in the inertia of ideologies
Between swollen bellies smiling for the camera
And children disappearing into the rescue of graves,
Keeps waiting for the delicate kiss
To unveil the sorrow of doves imprisoned there.
© 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
___________________________________________________________________________
● ER IS TEVEEL OM ACHTER TE LATEN
Dutch translation by © Irene Scheltes
Er is teveel om achter te laten
Het bloed van volwassen worden
De roep van de voorouders
Het verlangen naar je geharde toon
Het voelen van geelbruin leem
Maar de zee fluistert
Banjo's blijven dansen
En het hart blijft woorden vormen
Gevangen door geharde lippen
Het hart,
Gehuld in stalen uienschillen
Gevangen in trage ideologieën
Tussen dikke buiken lachend voor de camera
En kinderen verdwijnend in verlossende graven,
Blijft wachten op de subtiele kus
Om de droefheid bloot te leggen van daar gekooidc duiven.
Dutch translation by kind permission of © Irene Scheltes
___________________________________________________________________________
● ΥΠΑΡΧΟΥΝ ΠΟΛΛΑ ΝΑ ΕΓΚΑΤΑΛΕΙΨΟΥΜΕ
Greek translation by © Paulos Ioannou
Υπάρχουν
πάρα πολλά να εγκαταλείψουμε
Το αίμα του
μεγαλώματος
Το κάλεσμα
των προγόνων
Η λαχτάρα
για τους σκληρυμένους τόνους σας
Η αίσθηση
της κανέλας
Αλλά η
θάλασσα συνεχίζει να ψιθυρίζει
Και το
μπάντζο συνεχίζει να παίζει
Και η καρδιά
συνεχίζει να σχηματίζει λέξεις
Παγιδευμένη
από τα σκληρυμένα χείλη
Και η
καρδιά,
Ντυμένη με
κρεμμυδόφλουδες από ατσάλι
Πιασμένη
στην αδράνεια των ιδεολογιών
Ανάμεσα σε
φουσκωμένες κοιλιές που χαμογελούν για την κάμερα
Και παιδιά
που εξαφανίζονται στη διάσωση των τάφων,
Συνεχίζει να
περιμένει το λεπτό φιλί
Να
ξεσκεπάσει τη θλίψη των περιστεριών που φυλακίστηκαν εκεί.
Greek
translation by kind permission of © Paulos
Ioannou
___________________________________________________________________________
[] acknowledgements:
There Is Too Much To
Leave
/ There Is Nothing More To Say
was previously published in:
A Celebration Of Flames (donker, p37, 1987);
Upstream 2(2) (edgemead, p13,
autumn 1984);
Exiles Within (writers' forum,
cape town, p1 & p6, 1985);
A Celebration of
Flames (heller fund, uc berkeley, california, usa, p31,
1988);
Englisch Amerikanische Studien
10(2) (münchen, germany, p262, 1988);
Er Is Teveel Om Achter Te Laten: Dutch translation by Irene
Scheltes (1989);
ΔΕΝ ΥΠΑΡΧΕΙ ΤΙΠΟΤΑ ΝΑ ΠΙΣΤΕΨΩ : Greek
translation by Paulos Ioannou (2022);
Processed World 29 (processed world,
san francisco, usa, p33, December 1992);
A Celebration Of Flames (piquant publications, p49, 2007);
A Celebration Of Flames (kindle, 2014);
A Celebration Of Flames (amazon paperback, p49, 2014).
[]
as There Is
Nothing To Believe In:
A Celebration of
Flames (heller fund, uc berkeley, california, usa, p30,
1988);
Horses: Athlone (ekapa & buchu
books, cape town, p15, 1988);
[]
as There Is
Nothing More To Say:
Upstream 2(2) (edgemead, p13,
autumn 1984);
[]
as part of There
Is Too Much To Leave:
Exiles Within [part of] (writers'
forum, cape town, p6, 1985);
Processed World 29 (processed world,
san francisco, usa, p33, december 1992);
# composed: 1985 [Johannesburg, South Africa under
apartheid].
(new edited version: 17.04.2012)
___________________________________________________________________________
© 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 #there #is
#too #much #to #leave
● 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
#liberate #palestine
#stop #massacres
#stop #genocide
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