THE WIND STILL SINGS SAD SONGS
© 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
composed: 1980 - 1996 [cape town & johannesburg, south africa under #apartheid ] [w]
___________________________________________________________________________
[§] 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
___________________________________________________________________________
§ THE WIND STILL
SINGS SAD SONGS by FAROUK ASVAT"
If you like
poetry you’ll love the way this poet writes.
His voice and thoughts
speak volumes in a way that can be understood by all."
● AMAZON 5-star review***** - ''excellent
read'' - Leslie
Howell
● GOODREADS 5-star 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 & Gutterheart & DynamicAfrica, et al
"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
"a guided tour of the souls of the South
Africans he writes about and cares about.
Hauntingly
universal"
● Thomas Rome, New York
"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,
at book launch
"The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs" is an
important addition to any discerning reader's literary collection."
● Victor Metsoamere, Sowetan
"You are amazing!!!!! … vey impressive".
● Jill Townsend, Council of Grandmothers, Ojai,
California, USA (linkedin, 21.07.2013)
___________________________________________________________________________
[] aknowledgements:
The Wind Still Sings
Sad Songs was previously
published in:
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).
[] NOTES:
() 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
© 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
#the #wind #still #sings #sad #songs #the #wind #still #sings #sad #songs
● 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
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