SPONGE

Tags

Humanity, love, poem, poetry, spiritual, Universe

SPONGE

the human heart
is a sponge

can absorb
the Universe entire
if it tried

and yet

here we are
again:
restricted, constricted

limited to

these

one

two

perfect
drops

INFRA RED

Tags

Humanity, identity, poem, poetry

INFRA RED

Invested everything
whole spirit
and soul

so not by
association
identification

King of
the Jungle

not just
a desert rodent battling
my way through sand

behind me, locked on
this rattlesnake built
for interceptions

reading my
every move
in
infra red.

SALVE

Tags

afterlife, books, death, Humanity, philosophical, poem, poetry, religion, spiritual, Upanishads, Water

SALVE

salve aqua
you are the original solvent

it was raining that day when
I figured death
might not have dominion

down in the crypt-like stacks
of the University library
rain pouring down
(a natural watershed here
on the backslope of this mountain)

easy to forget
the trials and tribulations
of climbing even so far
(later to
lose myself in the clouds
of crazy
doctoral thesis)

but here we are
deep into the Upanishads,
ancient Hindu scriptures

where they talk
journey of the soul

across space and
time

(didn’t fully
understand it

too young
this
mind)

ROOST

Tags

Humanity, poem, poem poetry political moral, poetry, satire, wall

ROOST

build the wall
build the wall

let us not get swamped
be overrun by the Universe

find our skins
burnt to ash by ferocious Sun

shaded
out of existence

all our monsters
coming home to roost

SILVER AND GOLD

Tags

aesthetics, Beauty, Humanity, poem, Poet, poetry, Value and meaning, writing

SILVER AND GOLD

I have become
Oh so quiet
so very quiet
watching the fish
swim in
a crystal stream

but even so
being human
I have
my apocalyptic moments

which I refuse to
project
inflict upon the world

let the
word write itself
let it find, with me, despite me
its way into being

let this
stream so beautiful

the fish like little crystals
as they
flash silver; flash gold.

MOSHAWANE

Tags

Africa, Humanity, identity, Mafikeng, Nature, poem, poetry, South Africa, Universe

MOSHAWANE

the dry earth
the surreal blue sky

what stories are lost here
what
words uttered
what lives recorded

what memories are told
as the stars appear
big as
diamonds
(curse of
this country)

what stories of hope, struggle,
redemption of the soul
from subservience poverty

this I ask
still wearing my skin, skin of the intruder,
less than lightly

and yet you
have done so much
to teach
a reconciliation with the rocks, the stones
the caring soil

as I bring my body here
to find (at last) the Sun, the Moon, the stars
the entire Universe

there to unite
as much as we divide

LIGHTNING

Tags

Creativity, good v evil, Humanity, poem, poem poetry political moral, Poet, poetry, power, spiritual, writing

LIGHTNING

sometimes I
miss the
evil of lightning

searing through
splitting my body
in two

tell myself
how good that wild
chaotic electricity
would be
for poetry

put me in touch with
forces darkly cosmic
truly primeval

but then I
see you
in your politics

and think to myself,
perhaps it’s best
to stay human
ramble on the page
sweetly, consequentially,

cling to
the old Platonic stuff

the true
and the good

WHAT CAN POETRY DO?

Tags

existence, Humanity, identity, meaning, Metaphysical, philosophical, poem, poetry, The ocean, the sea, Water

WHAT CAN POETRY DO?

I asked the sea
to speak
(always thundering
nobody listening)

some theological type
told me need
to be more porous
let the
briny wisdom
flow through
me

take me back to
that salt time when the
ocean was our all, was
out complete being

I asked the sea to speak
speak quietly right
in my ear
or, alternatively, so
mountain loudly it
drowns out
the noise, this noise

what stops you
from hearing me

stops me
from hearing you

wave upon wave
freak giant to
the barest ripple

when we share this
special time, this
moment

what can poetry do?

POEM ALPHA

Tags

Humanity, poem, poem poetry political moral, Poet, poetry, satire, thermonuclear, wordplay, writing

POEM ALPHA

ALPHA TANGO ZULU FOXTROT

yep

I thought about
having a
foxtrot

but decided to cover
myself with mud and leaves
lie down in a river bed
until it
all passed over

Empire’s rise and
fall
it is a
law
of history

Empire’s fall
but never
with such weaponry

and so I decided
to fire off
all my poems first

no sense
letting them get
caught on the ground before
they could get airborne

before they
might
plead the cause
of peace

show
the horrors of war

ALPHA ZULU TANGO FOXTROT confidence
is high this is the poem you
have targeted
we have confirmation
it’s the one
you require

RAW

Tags

art, empathy, Humanity, poem, poem poetry political moral, Reader

RAW

you were dancing
gracefully

singing
sweetly

but you
had not suffered
and so

fell short on
humanity
short on
empathy

and so
whilst you
touched my heart

you did not
tear it raw