SMOKE
© Farouk
Asvat
Smoke
swirls up in nostalgia:
Fragile
cinder collapsing in my palm
As I
light the first furtive cigarette;
The
faithful coalstove choking us
In the
sour haze of the old kitchen;
The
watchman rubbing his hands together
To keep
the brazier warm;
The
brilliant orange of a veldfire
Leaving
a crunchy scrub of remorse:
Somehow
there is an aura of sadness
Within
the smoke of childhood.
Now there is
The acrid smell of tyres burning
The singeing bubbles of flesh smouldering
The screaming rhythms of grotesque dancing
The bursting flowers of teargas blossoming
The swirling gloom of smoke rising
from
blazing shanties
The spectral haze of mothers hurrying
through
the smoggy dusk
The lightning flashes of zealous comrades burning
witches
in adobe huts
That is now the clear smoke of growing up
© farouk asvat
composed: 23.06.1986 [alexandra, johannesburg, south africa
under #apartheid]
___________________________________________________________________________
§ THE WIND STILL SINGS SAD SONGS by FAROUK ASVAT
"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
● AMAZON 5-star review *****
"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
- an excellent read'' - Leslie Howell
● GOODREADS 5-star review *****
re: ''She Loved Me'':
''So few words conveying so much.
Beautiful bitter-sweetness.''
● Philip Low, G+
"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
"You are amazing!!!!! … vey
impressive".
● Jill Townsend, Council of
Grandmothers, Ojai, CA, USA
"The Wind Still Sings Sad
Songs" is an important addition to any discerning reader's literary
collection."
● Victor Metsoamere, Sowetan
___________________________________________________________________________
[§] 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 paperback
& kindle editions
__________________________________________________________________________
[] aknowledgements:
for
Lionel Abrahams in Alexandra Township
Smoke was
previously published in:
The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs (piquant publications, p31, 2006);
The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs (kindle, 2014);
The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs (amazon
paperback, p29, 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
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● 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
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