The mirror hanging on the wall, where I sometimes see myself in passing… is a dead pond brought into the house. Corpse of a pond is the mirror: Still, rigid water containing in itself remnants of color, remembrances of the sun, of shadow—movable edges of the horizon burning, passing by in circles, returning, never burning…
In this world where we forget we are shadows of who we are, and the true expressions we form in that other where, souls, we live, are here grimaces and signs. All is night and confusion that exists among us here: projections, smoke scattered from the fire whose glow is hidden when we look at…
BEFORE YOU, mother Idoto*,Naked I stand;Before your watery presence,A prodigalLeaning on an oilbean,Lost in your legend.Under your power wait Ion barefoot,watchman for the watchwordat Heavensgate;out of the depths my cry:give ear and hearken… DARK WATERS of the beginning.Rays, violet and short, piercing the gloom,Foreshadow the fire that is dreamed of.Rainbow on far side, arched like…
What is simile? A simile is a figure of speech used in language to make a comparison between two different things, ideas, or concepts. It is often used to create vivid imagery or to help the reader or listener better understand the characteristics of one thing by likening it to something else. Similes typically use…
The wind howls, the trees sway,The loose house tops sheets clatter and clang,The open window shuts with a bang,And the sky makes night of day Helter-skelter the parents runPressed with a thousand minor cares,‘Hey you there! Pack the household waresAnd where on earth’s my son?’ Home skip the little children.‘Where have you been you naughty…
Background of the poet Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali, (born 1940, Vryheid, Natal, South Africa), South African poet who wrote in English and Zulu and whose work drew deeply upon the immediate experience of life in the Johannesburg township of Soweto. Mtshali worked as a messenger before his first collection of poems, Sounds of a Cowhide Drum (1971), won the Olive…
I am Eratosthenes’ heir — the librarianwho measured earth. He took an obelisk,a well, the sun, and made a triangle:geometry, simple and accurate. A cartographer of sorts — I measureearth with words. I have drawn roadsand made them impassable. I have laidrailroad tracks to serve as escaperoutes. I have surveyed rivers andseas by touch and taste….
Wake before the dawn and you will witness the World’s slowest embrace The moon and sun hold hands distant lovers sharing space. Hues of violet and amber spill over the horizon. The morning is a reminder that even though the night is full of terrors, dark will always give way to dawn.
To praise the blue whale’s crystal jet, To write, ‘O fountain!’ honouring a spout Provokes this curse: ‘The high are humbled yet’ From those who humble Godhead, beasthood, verse. Once, the Lord raised this bulwark to our eyes, Once, in our seas, whales threshed, The harpooner was common. Once, I…
Surprising how feelings depend on blood pressure. Electricity in my body prevents me from staying put. And, still, I force myself not to move. Fingers are nervously running across the keyboard. Then the uneven verses turn into day dreams. Your text messages follow me in my steps. I do not wish to keep silent, but…