© Farouk Asvat
It is still
the bad old days in Alex,
The Dark
City in the City of Gold
The
unemployed still sun themselves in the lazy afternoon
Listening
to the all-in-one ghettoblasterEating horse intestines mixed with chicken offal
Passing around the strong shake-shake homebrew
And there is nothing to stop them from feeling safe
Behind the precast walls enclosing them
Even though the new breed of gangsters try
To harass them so every now and again
The
children still play stick-along-the-zinc
Merrily
running into the filthy ditchesSteering their balding tyres with sticks down the hill
Or driving their hanger-wire cars along the dirty roads
Where Mamma and Sissie are still looking for work
Sitting around their leaking tin shack
And Granny and the Old Man
Ruminate about the good old days in Alex
And about the family they left behind in Umtata
At night
they still gather under the tall sodium lights
-
Searchlights on their meagre existences -Envying the nouveau riche blacks
Driving by in their shiny new luxury cars,
Warily watching the cops
Cruising by in their yellow canaries,
The black soldiers
Driving by in their camouflaged hippos,
And the special squads
Still raiding with their steel-caged trucks
Looking for aliens from across the border;
While the highjackers gang-rape their daughters
Dancing the slow strip-dance in the alleys.
In the new
world
The parents
still sing:"hush, hush …, my little one."
© farouk asvat
* original composed: 1986 [Johannesburg,
South Africa under apartheid]
# english
translation by farouk asvat: 2006 [South Africa under new apartheid].
[] Acknowledgements:
# Alexandra /
* Alex was previously published in:
The Wind Still Sings Sad
Songs (piquant publications, p78, 2006); #
Bra Frooks … (piquant publications, p35,
2006); * www.faroukasvat-lingo.blogspot.com (19.06.2012); * #
www.faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com (30.12.2014); * #
Bra Frooks … (kindle, 2014); *
Bra Frooks … (amazon paperback, p32, 2014); *
The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs (kindle, 2014); #
The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs (amazon paperback, p76, 2014). #
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
the anthology A Celebration Of Flames by Farouk Asvat is now available on amazon: paperback @ $10 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
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the anthology The Time Of Our Lives by Farouk Asvat is now available on amazon: paperback @ $10 & kindle @ only $5
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[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
the anthology Bra Frooks … by Farouk
Asvat is now available on amazon: paperback @ $10 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
the anthology The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs by Farouk
Asvat is now available on amazon: paperback @ $10 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
© farouk asvat. All rights reserved.
Farouk
Asvat asserts his moral right to be
identified as the author of this work.
No part of this publication may
be reproduced by any means whatsoever, or transmitted in any form or any means
whatsoever, mechanical or electronic, including recording, printing,
photocopying, or via any computerised means or media, including the internet. This publication shall also not be stored in
a retrieval system. And the writing
shall not be sold, lent, hired, resold or circulated in any form or binding or
cover other than that in which it is published,
without the prior permission of the author in writing.
Permission
to publish or reproduce the writings in any format can be obtained from the
author.
Reproduction
of this work without permission, except for scholarly & nonprofit purposes,
is
liable to a payment of 10, 000 ren men bi or US$ 1,500.
farouk asvat can be contacted at: farouk.asvat@gmail.com
[] please check out my blogs @:
farouk asvat - poems: www.faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com
weapons of words: www.faroukasvat-viewpoint.blogspot.com
streetwise: www.faroukasvat-lingo.blogspot.com
books by farouk asvat: www.faroukasvat-piquant.blogspot.com
[] also link up on:
_______________________________________________________
[] WIETIE WHAT-WHAT:
ALEX
© Farouk Asvat
It is still
the bad old days in Alex
The Dark
City in the City of Gold
The
unemployed still sun themselves in the lazy afternoon
Listening
to the aquafresh all-in-one ghettoblasterEating the horse matatana mixed with the chicken malana
Passing around the strong shake-shake
And there is nothing to mothibe them from feeling safe
Behind the no-nonsense enclosing them
Even though the new breed of gangsters try
To Kasinga them so every now and again
The
children still play sebala-la-mesenke
Merrily
running into the filthy moselesSteering their balding tyres with sticks down the hill
Or driving their hanger-wire cars along the dirty road
While boMama and boSisi are still looking for work
Sitting outside their leaking mkhukhu
While boGogo and boMadoda
Ruminate about the good old days in Alex
And about the family they left behind in Umtata.
At night
they still gather under the tall Apollos
-
Searchlights on their meagre existences -Envying the new situations
Driving by in their shiny new elephants and lions,
Warily watching the gattas
Cruising by in their yellow canaries,
Or the black SANDF
Driving by in their camouflaged hippos,
And the special squads
Still raiding with their kwela-kwelas,
Looking for aliens from across the border;
While the Jackrollers gang-rape their daughters
Doing the slow setjwetla in the alleys.
In the new
world
The mothers
still sing:"thula, thula, my little one."
© farouk asvat
original composed: 1986 [Johannesburg,
South Africa under apartheid]
Bra Frooks is ...
[] nes 'n skollie[] 'n egte skollie
[] 'n tsotsi
[] a real scamp
[] streetwise
[] the jokerman
Bra Frooks ...
[] praat soos 'n skollie[] wietie soos 'n joster
[] wietie what-what
[] tunes like a durbanite
[] speaks like an englishman
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
the anthology A Celebration Of Flames by Farouk Asvat is now available on amazon: paperback @ $10 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
the anthology The Time Of Our Lives by Farouk Asvat is now available on amazon: paperback @ $10 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
the anthology Bra Frooks … by Farouk
Asvat is now available on amazon: paperback @ $10 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
the anthology The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs by Farouk
Asvat is now available on amazon: paperback @ $10 & kindle @ only $5
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
#love #lovepoems #literature #fiction
#poetry #southafrica #apartheid #biko
