Home 9 Literary Archive 9 Poetry 9 Four poems by Karabelo Mofokeng

Four poems by Karabelo Mofokeng

Somewhere

1

Somewhere
inside a block of flats
a trombone wields a blue flame
then dies

Somewhere
in the wake of surburban silence
a cigarette cough ruptures a lung
then quietly sleeps

Somewhere
inside our tyrant
black screams rise from a burning tyre
refusing to deny

Somewhere
across a treacherous road
a racist hound grinds her teeth
unashamedly

Somewhere
behind a curtained window
a candle sobs
slowly suffocates

Somewhere
beneath the crack of mooonshine
rust permeates dawn
tarnishing our silver dreams

Somewhere
behind shut doors and the electric strings
of wired fences
I roam and return darkly

 
Saxturns

Sax-junky
when last did you bath?
prrrhhh!!!
your farting blow
chops and changes
a fatal silence
releases a new complexion

You laugh where I dance
when last did you bath?
hei…hei…heee…tuu!
burning sensation
let me out
hei…hei…heee…tuu!
stinky sax blowing
ins and out
in and out
when last did you brush your mouth?

Dear-dee-dirty-sax
strokin a dragon’s breath
tongue tasting granadillas
your blow head-rushes-blood-shot-eyes
sting of fire rising
last drag of dying pipe skyf
romantic dragon
wild and extreme
within inner-glows
of your trumpet blows
I burn

pleeeaz
let me out..!

 

Tlou’s blues

I shred
against your tearing light
endlessly
gently worming out of the cracks
finding moist more than often
and the glint of feathered dreams
boisterous rainbow
blistering golden beyond the sunset

 
Tshidi’s Lobola
(Cousin Tshidi’s Lobola kitchen party in Killarney, Orlando West not Parktown but trackside of Phomolong near Ndofire)
Yesyes y’all

Whiskey dream
a thousand Naigas
in Soweto
me firing
Reprimanding
dancing
hind legs kissing the skies

Bassline
chanting
rebel/ions
soul sisters
showing love

Festive flame licking slowly
the generator of the soul
I am still in recovery mode
how are you ?