Home 9 Literary Archive 9 Poetry 9 Poems by Sanet van Rensburg

Poems by Sanet van Rensburg

Ceasefire

The call to prayer sounds

a familiar cry of melancholy
respect resonates
through ancient notes
silence falls
dissolving enemy lines

momentarily

The End
Be brave
like me
walk away from this broken urn

it once was splendid

let go of the pieces
they no longer fit
lay down your tools
and rest

this time we can’t be mended

Hushing Moon

The butter moon hangs low
clawing gravely
at a frayed indigo sky

her mouth now hushes the torrid dusk
quiets all to hear the fetid rumours
of would-be lovers stealing away
in this mellow quivering night

they are the ones who trade their souls
seize fickle moments sharp and baleful
risking all
for a flicker
of sorcery

how august

Morning

I see you at dawn
you’re the break of day itself

such promise in your half open mouth
your naked back
brand new as I search your spine in the half light

each first beam a second chance
to discover more of you

your arms blind and searching
find me as the day awakes
and gratitude flows over me as words turn obsolete
talk
flies silently for miles

when day breaks
I love you
and our matted souls delight

Forbidden Fruit

There’s a distinct allure
the perfect dimensions
first glance a unique intrigue of
beauty
elegant sensuousness

yet the effects devastate:
mortality rings through the night
we heave open warding rinds
wrenching off those random segments
and gorging till our hands reek

then we wait

to collapse into this disquieting bliss
I need a mere whiff of your wretched sap
and with eyes shut
head far tilted back
I’m now tasting you from my memory
vividly

besieged, I mull you over
indulged
oblivious to consequence
so tragically spoiling my lap
falling silently
from a desecrated mouth
and poisoning the both of us

 
Lunch with the Pied Pier

From across the table I examine your eyes
puffy from sleeping in the sun

you’re older than I remember
forearms crossed twitching like last time
you’re softer
as a melody escapes your mouth
and angst sweat pounds from my pores

I follow you revisiting alleys we have explored
and those we avoided before:
Mojitos.
Chivas.
Marlboro.
and us

molten I submit to your gaze
the diamond flashes when you grab my hand
our knees touch as you say:
‘It’s an unusual cut. Did you choose it together?’

arrested:
mesmerized and flushed I watch you eat
talking rampantly against the tides of blood now thrashing through my head
and as a mere conquest
quivering before you
I wonder just why
our embrace
fits so perfectly

Wasted

My bangles flash for you
they shimmer
lashes long and dressed for you
and tears fall
as you savour hers

theirs even

The House

The house is empty
photos torn from its walls
flames still lick at the corners
smoke rises
ash falls

never will it be again
the place you once worshiped

you set it on fire left it to burn
the windows broken
there’s no use turning the key
in this door
tonight

your photos lay torn from my walls
tears twist in me
break me
I did not survive the blaze in your eyes
I’m at the mercy
of whirlwinds to