Posted by Poetry Potion on Sunday, February 19, 2012,
In :
Soweto Poets
Sipho Sephamla, Mafika Gwala, James Matthews, Keorapetse Kgositsile to name but a few are poets that rose up in an era where poetry was just not fanciful. "Soweto poetry is the single most important socio-literary phenomenon of the seventies in South Africa..." Chris Mann in the introduction of his collection called Soweto Poetry. Soweto Poetry is also known as Post-Sharpeville poetry, township poetry, New Black Poetry of the Seventies, Participatory poetry and People's poetry" so not all the... Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Saturday, November 19, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
Don't let it catch up with you,
Or come anywhere near you.
Do everything you can to avoid it:
Go to school.
Go to school while you have a chance.
Equip yourself with a skill
You can later use
To put food on your table,
To put a roof over your head,
Clothes on your back
And cash in your bank.
Gather for yoursef knowledge
No one can take away from you.
When opportunity shouts
Skilled persons,certificate,diploma or degree
Don't find yourself saying
Not there
For not there will tie your hands
Lik... Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Saturday, November 19, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
A ticket to my destiny
From destitute
Allow me
U denied
Boundries of health
My ratio
Concern food ration of tomorrow
I blame you
For selling in the pavement
Of a white man's supermarket
Listening to every movement
Assuming a customer
The regime of your act
Handcuffed me
The night illness feebled my daughter
U confined me for yourself
I,incarcerated in your cage
You should have seen my rage
© Thabang Moabi
Day 5 | 17 November 2011 Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Saturday, November 19, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
(Soweto Poets Week)
"the bit into my flesh (handcuffs)" (from 'Kwela-Ride' by Mafika Gwala)
DEADLINE: 11:59M, 18 NOV Kwela-Ride by Mafika Gwala Dompas! I looked back Dompas! I went through my pockets Not there. They bit into my flesh (handcuffs). Came the kwela-kwela We crawled in. The young men sang. In that dark moment It all became familiar.
Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Friday, November 18, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
Scavenging dogs
Roam around,
Fighting fiercely
Over abandoned children.
Abandoned children
By parents hoping someone
Will throw a brick at those dogs.
Parents ignoring to instill
In their chidren morals and values,
Wisdom and knowledge,
Love and laughter.
Parents ignoring to love their children
And allow them to laugh.
Ignoring to teach them what they know
And allow them to ask.
Scavenging dogs
Roam around in the world,
Looking for the type without
The basics for survival;
The type desparate ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Friday, November 18, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
In my daily routine
My way home passage
Is an infernal place
Bad deed don't seem to elapse
Prostitute roam in the midnight
Church street doesn't tally the words of God
A corpse is lying in a red pool
Blood has painted the future
Sangomas throw bones and foretell lies in lieu of money
We have adopted so much to bite our tongues trying to pronounce who we are
You should have told me more about red
I could have known
I might be dead
I could have known
The smiling world isn't friendly
© Thaba... Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Friday, November 18, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
tales acted outa libretto
in three acts a velvet curtain raised
a high pitched overtureknitted in bloodlines tangled drowned in scarlet
nothing sound penetratingidentity flicked by tonguesvelvet© zamantungwa Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Thursday, November 17, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
(Soweto Poets Week) "flicked velvet tongues of scarlet"(from 'An abandoned bundle' by Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali) the full poem is below... DEADLINE: 11:59M, 17 NOV An abandoned bundle by Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali The morning mist and chimney smoke of White City Jabavu flowed thick yellow as pus oozing from a gigantic sore. It smothered our little houses like fish caught in a net. Scavenging dogs draped in red bandanas of blood fought fiercely for a squiriming bundle. I threw a brick; they bar... Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Thursday, November 17, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
I fell and knocked my head
I am so clumsy broke my arm
I bumped into the open door
I didn't catch the ball in time
I made him angry
It is all my fault
I shouldn't make him jealous
I know its the last time
I promised I'll leave again
I came back cause he's sorry
He loves me
To death...
© Saurell Boyers
Day 3 | 16 November 2011 Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Thursday, November 17, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
Without women rights
Below many woman would be,
And punches would still
Be rolling upon that which is
Delicate and soft,
Fragile and tender,
Meak and physically weak.
Without women rights
Below many woman would be
And sky high many man's confidence
Would be,
Many man's bragging and boasting
Sky high would be.
Many man would still be
Bearing with pride
The image of a beast and monster,
Opposer of Him
Who gave men strength and power
To protect and provide,
To shield and shelter;
Not abuse and ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Thursday, November 17, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
Sins of shadows
Let not haunt him
For he washed you away with tears of remorse
He washed from the ninth floor while slipping
Let not provoke the guilt he felt
Agony made him believe he is cursed
Neighbours keep distance
Give him a chance
To sip the taste of change
He vowed to heal
Pains of non madicine
In every heart he has hurt
© Thabang Moabi
Day 3 | 16 November 2011 Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Wednesday, November 16, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
(Soweto Poets Week)
"He washed from the ninth floor while slipping" In detention by Christopher van Wyk
He fell from the ninth floor
He hanged himself
He slipped on a piece of soap while washing
He hanged himself
He slipped on a piece of soap while washing
He fell from the ninth floor
He hanged himself while washing
He slipped from the ninth floor
He hung from the ninth floor
He slipped on the ninth floor while washing
He fell from a piece of soap while slipping
He hung from the ninth floor
H... Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Wednesday, November 16, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
Flee from me fear,
For you are not from the father
But from the foe.
Flee from me fear,
For you become a barrier
Where I need to boldly enter.
Giving me cold feet
Where I need to be courageous.
You make me say yes
When I need to say no,
No when I need to say yes.
You show me a bleakness
Where there is brightness,
Weakness where there is strength.
Showing me no way
Where the way is wide and open.
Flee from me fear,
Stop following me around
Like I am your friend,
For a foe of my father
Is no fr... Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Wednesday, November 16, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
A romance story like none before
One morning, he broke down her door
He gave her a ring made out of rope
And without a word they both eloped
It took her a while to love him back
A few missed teeth and eyes made black
Her Stockholm love tore her apart
With the fear-filled flutter of her heart.
© Alyssa Campbell
Day 2 | 15 November 2011
short bio: I am a cook who works at the University, loves to read, and express herself through words and art. (Kelowna, Canada) Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Wednesday, November 16, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
They come at night
Flaming torches
Angry voices,
"Come out you dog!"
They yell,
"Come out you dog!"
They drag me out
I look back at her
My wife
Clutching her belly
To protect life
As I sense
"the fear-filled flutter of her heart"
They say
"Go home",
Because I don't belong
They say
"You thief",
Because I do what they won't
In a country
Not my own
A country
Part of a continent
Our home
© Saurell Boyers
Day 2 | 15 November 2011
(South Africa) Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Tuesday, November 15, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
(Soweto Poets Week) "the fear-filled flutter of her heart"
(from 'the face of my mother takes the shape' by James Matthews) the full poem is below... DEADLINE: 11:59M, 13 NOV the face of my mother takes the shape by James Matthews the face of my mother takes the shape of a frightened mouse at the sound of a policeman's step the fear-filled flutter of her heart a bird ensnared my father freezes his feelings at the demand for a pass and i watch the fire in his eyes slowly die as his hands grope for... Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Tuesday, November 15, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
Fertile soil that feed the vegitation The green pasture of the livings A field of mere, severe food chain
I migrate,lured of urban I leave u behind To a place that would wound my soul Not even bleeding
I will be back Where my umbilical cord has fallen To tell the scars in my heart and their worth My footprint will not be removed of wind or rainfall
I will preserve my blood To run thicker in my veins And forbid the running water of the urban A penetration of my skin For it would ruin its purity © Thab... Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Tuesday, November 15, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
This one was a heavy cycle It starts with a machine-hard soak and a gun-wash rinse Clothes fly, up and down Filling and emptying suitcases Goodbye slaps, and welcome back embraces All is tense as the room starts spinning, faster building up pressure heading for disaster But that little lifesaver The little timer You could almost set Your watch by her She interrupts the final term of the cycle taking her time with the clothes, seeing, that the colors are not even bleeding. © Alyssa Campbell Day 1 | 14 November... Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Tuesday, November 15, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
No more traps To fight to get high As we mould lines Tomorrow We won’t go Tomorrow A place we don’t know Here and now We fill time Here and now We fly Here and now We crash Here and now We taste death Man-made Suicide Not even bleeding © Saurell Boyers Day 1 | 14 November 2011 short bio: Su is a writer writing. Su is based in Johannesburg, South Africa Continue reading ...
Posted by Poetry Potion on Sunday, November 13, 2011,
In :
Soweto Poets
(Soweto Poets Week)
"not even bleeding" (from For Don M. - Banned by Mongane Serote) DEADLINE: 11:59PM, 14 November 2011 the full poem is below... For Don M. - Banned by Mongane Serote> it is a dry white season
dark leaves don't last, their brief lives dry out
and with a broken heart they dive down gently headed for the earth,
not even bleeding.
it is a dry white season brother,
only the trees know the pain as they still stand erect
dry like steel, their branches dry like wire,
indeed, it is a dry whit... Continue reading ...
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