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South Africa (Remove filter)

Lover of South African Apartheid

No warning did I ever get,

That I really should have been born white,

Before the shooting and the bombing,

That ruined our economy.

How silly of me to not be white,

What’s more, I’m not indigenous;

My adoptive dad’s lived there for years,

He’s white (but not indigenous),

And a fluent speaker of the Queen’s English,

So I guess he ticks all the right boxes.

I’d love to...

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South AfricaapartheidBNPQueen's English

Kudu kudu

Kudu kudu

how magical to view you

your pinstripe torso and your curtain fringe mane.

Kudu  kudu,

posing like a statue

licking at the dawn dew

lifting your head and sniffing for rain.

Kudu kudu

horns in a corkscrew

your muzzle with a tattoo,

a sharp white horseshoe, 

you master the plains.

The bush birds of Africa

are setting up a clamour.

The Bokmakierie’s...

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kuduAnimalsSouth Africa

On Censorship

Given what's happening in America right now, I suspect it won't be long before the First Amendment begins fighting for its life.

With that in mind, I thought I'd share my most successful poem to date, though it's hardly a poem at all.

It is based on my experience of living in South Africa during Apartheid.

 

In The Tradition Of The Star

 

This poem is censored.

I cannot mentio...

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CensorshipSouth AfricaProtest

I hate being South African

My hate so filled with love

Because I love my country so much that it hurts

A throbbing

Like drums

Deep in my heart of darkness

And its' roots run through me like water

Iinto the earth reaching every corner of my heritage

My fathers blood stained land

My mothers struggle

And people I love leave me

Their roots severed with blades Of greene...

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hateloverootsSouth Africa

poems i read at Rochdale town hall march29

 

 

LYNETTE

 

Not quite sure why your death affected me so much Lynette.                                                     

Left me very upset when I found out.                                                                                              

I'd just been to Tesco’s at Greenfield for Naomi.                                                                   ...

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rochdale livelynettedeathcar crashsouth africafriendlosstrish reidhis latest flame

Africa United

 

Black stars in the dark that shone so bright,

Pan continental sparks were reignited,

In a flood-lit calabash, man what a sight!

Eleven Ghanaians became Africa United.

 

For the global Diaspora of Africans whose numbers stretched to billions,

A short but welcome distraction from conflict and debt,

From the highest to the lowest, military to civilians,

The to...

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South AfricaWorld CupCross Cultural PoetrySport2010

A couple of SA influenced pieces, first is a draft

 

The Pervasive Poison of Apartheid (working title)

 

In the Rainbow Nation one colonial legacy,

Which we see persisting today unfortunately

Is an attitude from a more northerly latitude of 'I'm alright Jack!'

If neighbours from Mozambique or Zim

Should decide on migration in to find what they are seekin’,

Locals will say “they’re arrivin’ here ridin’, on a croco...

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South AfricaApartheidpoliticalCross Cultural Poetry

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