- 82 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
Buzani: a naked bone
About this book
In simple vocabulary a naked bone describes complex states of beauty and suffering, often at the borderline where life meets death. In their dreamlike rhythms and images, the poems draw strength from Xhosa culture, Christianity, and elements of nature. They are love poems in the widest sense, embracing the interface between daily life and the spiritual, enacting joy and caring in the face of deprivation and mourning.
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Buzani: a naked bone by Mangaliso Buzani in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & African Poetry. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
II
Daily verse
On a dusty gravel road
a half naked child
walks towards a tree
which calls him by his name
Carrying an empty basket
listening from his singing stomach
he meets his sorrows
wrapped with thorns
On the shell of a passing snail
he reads his daily verse
Another 20 years to come
with nothing on the table
Ribs of a leaf
Perhaps I’m the only one
who breaks the frail ribs of a dry leaf
with a size seven shoe
the loud voice of my tiny toes
that disturb a tired ant
on a night shift
a bird who is trying to finish its duty
of counting leaves
my restless breath
that makes a spider
point a finger at me
I wonder
with this filthy heart
will I ever
enter eden again
or must I promise god
with a lot of long prayers
that repeat the same lines
god forgive me
help me throw away my last sin
and remain clean
next to your door
Leaves
Here in the windy town
I go up the stairs accompanied by dry leaves
I look at them as they crawl on the ground
wearing assorted camouflages
They are soldiers here
but nobody besides me
seems to get their attention
as they carpet the steps
I run to the library
and begin to read
A Rage in Harlem
Sick words
sick words are renting
the inside of my head
my soul has become a rude landlord
who always swears at my ears
scaring my bones saying
one day I will throw you outside
Dear doctor
There’s something happening in my head
it feels like maggots eating up my brain
my disappearing brain
headaches today
tomorrow again
Dear doctor
don’t send me away with a pain tablet
there’s something happening inside my head
when winter comes I have to put it in an oven
when summer begins I have to put it in the fridge
The day he left
The old man hears a noise outside his house
kicks off the blankets with his wrinkled feet
and steps on the cold floor
Determined to cause chaos
he leaves his wife behind
begging him not to go outside
With hands of samson
he goes to war
Kneeling on the ground
he pulls igqudu lakhe from under the bed
to kill the intruder
The sound of thunder
doesn’t lessen the strength of his mind
As if god is around
he walks in darkness
wearing no shoes
inside the kitchen
Before he switches the lights on
he falls on his back
crying for help for the last time on earth
He meets his death
among the pots
that have no hands
to help him
The moon has lost its light
I must find a way
to throw these heavy clothes aw...
Table of contents
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Contents
- I
- II
- III
- IV