AFTER ALL THESE YEARS
© Farouk
Asvat
a
letter to a friend
wherever
she may be
Anger
swells
Like
an explosion
In
the chest
But
it is too late
To
change lives now
Love
is a strange feeling
I
left behind
In
the disturbances of youth;
The
tiger will not let me off
And
the hyena cannot stop laughing
As
the hippo rides the streets
Besides,
we are too learned now
To
go back to the source
After
all these years
The
emerald dazzle has softened
Your
eyes have black sediments
And
I have aged in my youth
Oh
how the years wasted our lives
How
our tongues could not speak
The
language of our hearts
How
we barricaded
Behind
the myths of our upbringings
© farouk asvat
[]
composed: 1985 [Johannesburg, South Africa under apartheid].
[] Acknowledgements:
After All These Years
was previously published in:
A Celebration Of Flames
(donker, p35, 1987);
English Academy Review 3
(University of the Witwatersrand, p6,
1985);
Dokumente Texte und Tendenzen VIII
(Evangelische Akademie, Germany, 165,
1987);
A Celebration of Flames
(Heller Fund, UC Berkeley,
California, USA, p29, 1988);
Culture In Another South Africa, ed W Camschreur, J Divendal
(Olive Branch Press, New York, p198, 1989);
Na Al Deze Jaren:
Dutch translation by Irene Scheltes
(1989);
A Celebration Of Flames
(piquant publications, p47, 2007);
A Celebration of Flames (kindle, 2014);
A Celebration of Flames (amazon book, p47, 2014).
___________________________________________________________________________
<> blog link: https://faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com
<> every
form of refuge link: https://faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com/2012/04/upon-seeing-you-in-dark.html
<> blog archive: 17
april 2012
<> direct
post link: https://faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com/2014/09/after-all-these-years.html
<> blog archive: 30
september 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.
farouk asvat can be contacted at: farouk.asvat@gmail.com
___________________________________________________________________________
[] NA AL DEZE JAREN
Dutch translation by ©
Irene Scheltes
een brief aan een vriendin
waar zij ook mag zijn
Woede
zwelt
Als
een explosie
In
de borst
Maar
het is nu te laat
Om
levens te veranderen.
Liefde
is een vreemd gevoel
Wat ik achterliet
In de roerselen van mijn jeugd;
De tijger zal me niet laten gaan
En
de hyena zan niet stoppen met lachen
Als
het nijlpaard door de straten rijdt
Trouwens,
we weten nu te veel
Om terug te gaan naar de bron
Na
al deze jaren
Is
do smaragden glans verflauwd,
In
jouw ogen zit zwart bezinksel,
En
ik ben in mijn jeugd verouderd:
O de jaren die ons leven verspilden
Onze
tongen die niet konden spreken
In de taal van onze harten
Wat
hebben we ons verschanst
Achter
de mythen van onze opvoeding
Dutch translation by kind permission of ©
Irene Scheltes
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
the NOVEL Sadness In The House Of
Love by Farouk
Asvat
is now available on amazon: in paperback @ $15 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
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#apartheid #books #classics
#faroukasvat #weapons #of #words #comparative #literature
#literary #criticism
#a celebration of flames #after #all #these #years
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