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, p165, 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);
Μετα Απο Ολα Αυτα Τα Χρονια: Greek translation by Paulos Ioannou (2022);
A Celebration Of Flames (piquant
publications, p47, 2007);
A Celebration of Flames (kindle, 2014);
A Celebration of Flames (amazon paperback, p47, 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
(literary criticism)
¨ all my books are now available on amazon: in paperback & kindle
___________________________________________________________________________
§ THE TIME OF OUR LIVES by FAROUK ASVAT §
"The Time of Our Lives
reveals a writer who enjoys words:
- he has a sense of rhythm close to TS Eliot and an eye for the
modern image."
● Brian Rose, Rand Daily Mail
"It bears testimony to the resilience and courage of the
oppressed in South Africa ...
His poetry is devastatingly
forthright and hard-hitting."
● Tyrone August, The Star
"Asvat's imagery is stark - his poems taut encapsulations of
the injustices wreaked on Black people."
● Asha Rambally, The Graphic
"Asvat's poem (‘Possibilities for a Man Hunted by SBs’) is a
clear and simple statement of the true state of affairs - reducible to
mathematical terms."
● Mbulelo Mzamane, Perspectives
On South African English Literature
"Asvat's poems - with many depths, clever twists and
juxtapositions, are exciting, true, and thought-provoking."
● Wendy Vogt & Alan James, Upstream
"an almost palpable tenderness for a country whom the poet
alludes to as if she were a lover."
● Neela Alvarez-Pereyre, Commonwealth Essays & Studies
''Beautiful
words … poignant … heartbreaking …'
re: ''Cries and
Whispers''
● Jill
Townsend, Council Of Grandmothers, Ojai, California, USA
● ''The
Time Of Our Lives'' is the historically important anthology whose poems played such a
pivotal role in the struggle against the height of oppression in South Africa. It accurately portrays what it was like to
live and fight, love and die under the discrimination and tyranny of #apartheid.
__________________________________________________________________________
[] ΜΕΤΑ ΑΠΟ ΟΛΑ ΑΥΤΑ ΤΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΑ
Greek translation by kind
permission of © Paulos Ioannou
ένα γράμμα
σε μια φίλη
όπου κι αν
είναι
Ο θυμός
φουσκώνει
Σαν έκρηξη
Στο στήθος
Αλλά είναι
πολύ αργά
Να αλλάξουμε
ζωές τώρα
Η αγάπη
είναι ένα περίεργο συναίσθημα
Που άφησα
πίσω μου
Στις
αναταραχές της νιότης
Η τίγρη δεν
μου το επιτρέπει
Και η ύαινα
δεν μπορεί να σταματήσει να γελάει
Καθώς ο
ιπποπόταμος κυκλοφορεί στους δρόμους
Εξάλλου,
είμαστε πολύ μορφωμένοι τώρα
Για να
επιστρέψουμε στην πηγή
Μετά από
τόσα χρόνια
Η
σμαραγδένια λάμψη έχει απαλύνει
Τα μάτια σου
έχουν μαύρα ιζήματα
Κι έχω
γεράσει στα νιάτα μου
Ω πώς τα
χρόνια χάλασαν τη ζωή μας
Πώς οι
γλώσσες μας δεν μπορούσαν
Να μιλήσουν
τη γλώσσα της καρδιάς μας
Πώς
μπλοκαριστήκαμε
Πίσω από
τους μύθους της ανατροφής μας
Greek translation by kind permission of ©
Paulos Ioannou
__________________________________________________________________________
[] 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
___________________________________________________________________________
© 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 #after #all #these #years
● 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
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