© Farouk
Asvat
Now that love is dead,
And you, bemused,
Go your whimsical way
I realise
That kindness is a curse
That one cannot live on dreams
The periphery of other lives
The thin moment between life and death
The gesture between love and the ocean
That we have to lead our own lives
For beneath the facade of defiance
Lurks the heart of vulnerability
Even as you offer your lips
And I gaze child-eyed at the laughing parade
It is not easy, my love
The hungry fingers yearn
And the songs of our lives
Keep repeating themselves
So if
it was love
How
come the wind still sings sad songs
How
come the stars still explode silently
How
come the sun barely leaves a shadow
And my
eyes are always moist.
Forged by the obscene embrace of cold
men
In
the grey streets of another city
The
massacre in my eyes
Is
filled with mournful sighs
With
the deep anxiety of oppression
With
the full-hearted laughter of infinite despair
With
the profound sadness of the universe.
Yet,
sweetly so much you gave so trustingly.
Was it
my chestnut horse's eyes
That
gazed into your gushing blood
With
that no-man-fuck! look?
Was it
the strength of my loneliness
Or the
weakness of my gentleness
That
made you undress
As
eagerly as I sought your searing passion
With
my turgid branch?
Or was
it just another memory
In a
misty haze of faces
Between
saturn rockets
And
the void of space?
Or was
it the first
Of a
thousand and one nights?
There was a time I believed the wind
Believed orchids bloomed in scraggy gardens
Believed I could give you revolutions
Of the infinite galaxies
Believed we could dance on stardust
Sail on solar breezes
Fly on angelwing
But
you released me like a burning asteroid
Plummeting
into myself
Leaving
me only seasand and seashells
I
did not feel
The
sandsting in the seawind
I
did not taste
Snoek
and sewer in the air
I
only saw the sea
Through
armourplate glass
It was then that I realised
That it was in life
That you were unattainable:
The
undulating beauty of the beach
The
knowledge of the stars
A
world of dreams
Spiralling
down
To
suburban gardens;
It was
then I knew
That
nights invite the morning
Loneliness
love
Desire
another delight
For a
bouquet of diamonds
In a
cup full of sorrow.
But still
After all these tears
After all these curses
I cast upon you
I look you in the eye
And lay your restless ghost to rest.
But still
Our lives are bound
By tenuous emotions
By spittle threads
Of tender desires
So
when you hear me singing
Love songs in the wind
Know
that I am merely weeping
© farouk asvat
***** 5-STAR GOODREADS
REVIEW
"Currently reading
a book of incredible poems by @faroukasvat
called "The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs". The
title poem brought me to tears."
●
Léonicka, DynamicAfrica et al on twitter
"... they are very powerful
literary missiles: ... capable of the most beguiling love poetry,
as can be seen in "Love Devours Me".
● Asha Naidoo, Legal
Resources Centre
composed: 1980 - 1996 [cape town & johannesburg, south africa under apartheid] [w]
[] Acknowledgements:
The Wind
Still Sings Sad Songs was
previously published in:
as
() One Cannot Live On Dreams
&
() We Have To Lead Our Own Lives:
[part of The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs: section
previously published in:
English
Academy Review # 3 (University of the Witwatersrand, p6, 1985)].
&
() It Is Not Easy, My Love:
[part of The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs:
previously published in:
Exiles
Within (Writers, Forum, Johannesburg, p0, 1986);
[] new updated version: 2006
The Wind Still Sings Sad
Songs (piquant publications, p12, 2006);
The Wind Still Sings Sad
Songs (kindle, 2014);
The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs (amazon paperback, p23, 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)
● This Masquerade (short
stories)
● 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
___________________________________________________________________________
[] please check out my blogs @:
weapons of words: https://faroukasvat-viewpoint.blogspot.com
piquante: https://faroukasvat-piquant.blogspot.com
streetwise: https://faroukasvat-lingo.blogspot.com
quran lectures: https://faroukasvat-quran.blogspot.com
biography: https://faroukasvat-bio.blogspot.com
books by farouk asvat: https://faroukasvat-books.blogspot.com
[] please join me on:
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/faroukasvat
twitter: https://twitter.com/faroukasvat
___________________________________________________________________________
© 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.
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
the NOVEL Sadness
In The House Of Love by Farouk
Asvat
is now available on amazon: in
paperback @ $15 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
#love #literature #fiction #novel #poetry
#southafrica #apartheid #books #classics
#faroukasvat #weapons #of #words #comparative
#literature #literary #criticism
#the #wind #still #sings #sad #songs #the #wind #still #sings #sad #songs
___________________________________________________________________________
[] REVIEWS:
§ THE WIND STILL SINGS SAD SONGS by FAROUK ASVAT (poetry)
***** 5-STAR GOODREADS
REVIEW
"You are
amazing!!!!! … vey impressive".
● Jill
Townsend, Council of Grandmothers, Ojai, California, USA (linkedin,
21.07.2013)
"Currently reading
a book of incredible poems by @faroukasvat
called "The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs". The
title poem brought me to tears."
● Léonicka,
DynamicAfrica et al on twitter
"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"
"... they are very powerful
literary missiles: ... capable of the most beguiling love poetry, as can be seen
in "Love
Devours Me".
● Asha Naidoo, Legal Resources Centre
"… a guided tour of
the souls of the South Africans he writes about and cares about. …
Hauntingly universal
..."
● Thomas Rome, New York
"The Wind Still Sings
Sad Songs ... is an important addition to any discerning reader's literary
collection."
● Victor Metsoamere, "Sowetan"
You are amazing!!!!! ... very impressive.
ReplyDelete[] Jill Townsend, Council Of Grandmothers (LinkedIn: 21.07.2013)
11.09.2014 Léonicka retweeted on twitter
ReplyDeletere: The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs
Currently reading a book of incredible poems by @faroukasvat called 'The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs'. The title poem brought me to tears.
11.09.2014 Gutterheart on twitter
re: The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs
Currently reading a book of incredible poems by @faroukasvat called 'The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs'. The title poem brought me to tears.
11.09.2014 Dynamic Africa on twitter
re: The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs
Currently reading a book of incredible poems by @faroukasvat called 'The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs'. The title poem brought me to tears.
#thewindstillsingssad songs #faroukasvat