Ten flapping elbows, mama

By Khulile Nxumalo

have tried to be fully aware of

the legacy that we carry of poetry

on the page, by being aware of

style and form all the time,

especially when trying to make

language do new things. In what I

call psycho-narration, I try to write

beyond the understanding that

the 'inside of one's head' and 'the

objective world' are really distinct

worlds. This is a form I have

grown to love more since I started

preferring the long poem format

that sits on a conversational tone.

It's a multi-vocal way of

writing or telling stories

in a less authoritative way,

a kinda voice democracy in

the poem. If we let go beyond

rational thought - or even the idea

that rational thought is a

reflection of reality - then

anything can happen."

joy has no generation gaps

nor silences in between

like broken denture. No owls'

bleak eyes blinking

when the question in the air

stings in the eye

a grip, the clasp of hands

is so strong

we're stitching the lesion to the rock

no empty klevaz

no one had become

hidden schisms, victims or slow songs

simpering like a basket

under a leaking tap

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0958454264
• ISBN13: 9780958454261
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Deep South
• Length: 94 Pages
• Weight: 0.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.1" x 7.8"