TRUCK

Tags

death, Life, poem, poem poetry political moral, poetry, power, satire

TRUCK

truck killed many
killed
all and sundry

got into gear
did
what it had
to do

and people were confused
running hither
and thither

some thinking
work of the Devil
some the hand
of God

and the pulpits raged
fed by radio
and T.V.
with very different
views from theology

which did not add
or subtract a casualty

or provide fresh insight or
any clarity
whilst experts argued
issues of
will and purpose

and eye witnesses could
not agree
on white, or black

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ALL THE BIRD ISLAND POEMS

Tags

arrogance, male, poem, poem poetry political moral, poetry, power

BIRD ISLAND

who would have
thought it

that white
could be the
sick death colour
of hypocrisy

yes, manne,
R1, R2, R3, R4:
this in essence was
what you were defending

the better
to facilitate the lie
in all such circumstances

smeared with a holy
patriotic white
skin cream

who would
have thought it

open the door of
that history
and you
just fall through

*******

AND NOW WE SEE
(for the sexually tortured
of Bird Island)

and now we see
what it was about
this total
onslaught

the demon of fear
demon of power
demon of
history

here on this tiny
fortress of an island

where these
might bow and
do service to
their
truly insatiable,
unspeakable Lord

for
what was manifest here
who in
their apartheid white
right mind
will ever believe

that has not been washed away
slashed, speared on
those razor sharp, sharks’ teeth
rocks that
encircle this island

keeping out
keeping in

turning this offshore outcrop
into
outskirt
of Hell
into impregnable laager

***

silent, secret,
safe

you can
scream
all you want to

no one
will hear you

and if they could
what would they do
what would they say?

who can
speak,
say

a word
against this
faith

this ceremony
this
special allegiance

deny
the true hypocrisy
of these
saviours,
these guardians?

whose
deeds

masked as always
in history of white.

*******

REPRISE

rock retains
is super-
absorbent
see here:
where we
have cracked open
this jagged granite

nothing flows
the island is dumb

as if it
could find words
anything could
find words

the darkness of this
perverse hypocrisy
far too
deep a stain
for poor belief

******

LOST BOYS

the birds, the sea
the needle-sharp
impassable rocks

they
deaf to your screams
did not
ask your names

for this was time
of total onslaught
and everything
that power
needed

power
desired

power would do

*******

VOELL
VLERKE
NIE
TEENSTAANDE

die koeell
is deur die kerk
ek het
dit opgemerk

hy gat ie wegvlieg ie
voell vlerke nie
teenstaande

but now
profit is to
be made
we can go
spend the day
dreaming of
what went on here
will prepare
you for
Hell in
the most
refreshing
fashion

you can package them
al die toere na ‘n bevofkte hele
nuwe eiland
van
apartheid lunacy and
military perversion

see what
power can do
waneer jy mos
het ‘n voell
(when you
have a dick)

so let’s all
bandwagon this one and
jump on that lighthouse
(Zapiro
drawn it
accordingly)

let the choppers drop us
just
off the coast
when everyone
is swart gevaaring
no one is
watching

Oh the lighthouse and
the island
are
going down
de-
elevating

not much time now
before die deure spring
oop daar by
die senter
van
die
inferno darkest

and
deep

****

BLESSING

Tags

poem, poem poetry political moral, poetry, satire

BLESSING

got this
bad affliction

where the
World says
“politician”

I see only
shrunken head
went to
see my
psychologist
for a
fixing

she sent me
to the Devil
for a
second opinion

who told me
not to worry
it was a
blessing

one he was so so so so
very glad
the rest
of humanity
didn’t have

WHAT BELIAL TOLD ME

Tags

poem, poetry

WHAT BELIAL
TOLD ME

“In courts and palaces he also reigns”.
Milton, “Paradise Lost”

we like your
hostile
zero humanity
policy

as you know
under normal
circumstances
we hate humanity

and love to
see it
when you do too

the only humanity
worth loving (by
which we mean
not entirely hating)

that filled
with Sin and
Infernal power pride

DEMONS

Tags

poem, poetry, satire

DEMONS

the choir was
singing loud
had to get
louder

for the demons
outside were
beginning to
get close

was here for
their souls (they
believed) and
only hymn
could save them

from such terrible demons
(not demons
really
just people they
had demonized)

SOMETIMES

Tags

poem, poetry, satire

SOMETIMES

sometimes
that’s all it
comes down to
a raindrop
a chink
of light

such
precious,
precious jewels
all
we live
for

ask me:
I was playing cards
and then
Death itself
dealt me a
no-deal deal

Fool, Devil and
Falling Tower

sent me
to no-man’s
land, to
the Russian Front
dressed as
a clown

laughed (as if
this were a
joke for all
time)

saying “let’s see
you do
raindrops
now
let’s see
chink of
light now!”

I cursed my fate
as the first drop fell.

OUR ALIENS

Tags

poem, poetry

our aliens
look like
demons

look like
humans

(whose
every difference
we
demonize)

AND SO IT WAS

AND SO
IT WAS

And so
the Devil was
sitting in Parliament
(in the gallery but
also floating about)
and it came to
him to
then that it
would be so nice
so “in keeping”
to make
debt a Sin
so true to
history and
the feel of
the building

no sooner thought,
than Sin it was

and diabolical then
the punitive measures.

PRODIGAL

Tags

arrogance, macho, male, narcissism, poem, poem poetry political moral, poetry, power, pride, satire, sexual symbolism

man god said he was God
but that was not
the answer I was
looking for:
far from it

left me with
a broken pen, drained of ink,
trying somehow
to fill in the hole in my poem
hole in my being

vagina that in his infinite wisdom
he wished to, cutting out my heart,
leave for me

as he ascended to Heaven
tacky Elysium of his own limited creation

me, though, his most limited creation
though I have this poem and the
rampant Devil who
spoke and
still speaks

from these lines, through these bars,
outside the gate tightly shut and
locked for
the eternally prodigal

not quite out
of earshot
laughing diabolically but
quietly: yes my divine Other,
rattling your cage
as he laughs
and laughs
and
laughs
at you

in this insane, hopeless space
what more can he do?

EINSTEIN’S DICE

in the tesseract
I came across
Rene Descartes playing
cards with the Devil

this was a quantum
environment, so

both were cheating
willing the
cards to change

such
is the sneaky nature
of consciousness

when
I win, I lose,
therefore I am
(and every
win-win a
lose-lose

from some
utterly paradoxical, diabolical perspective
ten-a-penny in
the tesseract)