Dawn

To be in that room again
It’s early morning
Just me and you

I lost track of it all
Lost interest somehow
And gave you my heart

Over, and over again

Apparently the heavens on high
Have all of these mysterious plans
All we have to do is give up

Over, and over again

In the haze of that twilight
I stopped seeing the past
And wondering what lies ahead

Your body lay
So warm and so quiet
Next to me

Over, and over again

As apparently the world spun round
I was just there, in the dawn
Next to you

I Tried

A thousand ravens tear
at my flesh
lying on the floor.

Please, please
just leave me alone
for once.

All this talk of grace
sin, sin and freedom
is poison.

For years I smashed myself
to pieces
on this Rock.

Hated this flesh
from which these flowers
now finally bloom.

The sun falls sideways
on my face
turned to the sky.

You know my God
my God
how I did try.

Bly, of Gaan (Liefde II)

Ek sit in die wagkamer
van jou hart
in stilte
net ek.

Ek skroef myself oop
en kyk na myne
in stilte
tik-tik.

Ek sit hier
en wees
ek bid:
“Geen vrees.”

’n Liefde wat verwoesting toelaat
en pyn,
onbheerst snik,
nie vermy.

Bly, bly by my
of gaan, gaan verby
my liefde
is nie perfek nie.

Nuwe Lewe

Ek dink ek staan
Met die son op my rug
En voor my die woud
Donker en koud

Dit lyk soos ’n opening
Daar tussen die bome
Dit roep my
Kom binne, kom kry

Ek huiwer ’n oomblik
Dan tree ek na vore
En so begin dit
’n Heel nuwe lewe

It's There

It’s all so sporadic
And unpredictably beautiful

So deathly quiet
So perfectly silent
So mesmerizingly subtle

You’ll miss it if
You look to hard
Or think too much

So faint
Is it

An irreverent smile
Two fingers accidentally touch
Each other

A sun ray through space
The end of a life

Water dripping
From a tuft of thick black hair

A stranger over there
Corners of a mouth

The smell of ramen noodles
On the plane

What is this
A sort of simulation
Or what?

Hues of orange and blue
Disappear from view

Tiny gears keeping
A giant thing moving

So tiny
And insignificant
Is it

Then the most spectacular blue
A picture of you

That song I heard once
On the slopes

A shape
The darkness at dusk

The fire in your eyes
A boy of barely sixteen

So quiet
So quiet

Warm water repelling the cold
That night by the river

The smooth skin at your nape
Fine hairs on your wrist

The knot in your stomach
On the call
With someone you love

Coffee at nine in the morning
On a Thursday in February

Listen carefully
Keep quiet

Look closely
Slow down

Perhaps you’ll catch it
In that small country town

Or in the middle of the city
Dancing at Carnaval

Being stable
Sitting down at the table
Again

It is there
Look, there

Dusk Light

To lie down with you
To watch
The day dying
Slowly

Bleed out
In hues
Of orange
And blue

It is true
That it’s warm
In the dark
Next to you

Nothing

Then there was nothing.

It was as if they just
disappeared, fell.

Tiny green apples
bitter, free.

Your smell
lingered, hung.

My body
on fire.

And way over there
is a boy, black hair.

Tiny drops adorn him like jewels.

I feel the tide
coming in, going out.

Then there was nothing.

Stop Dan

die orkes speel alweer ‘n ballade
kliphard en duidelik vandag
en soos gewoonlik geen skare
behalwe ek en my gedagtes wat wag…

ek stap in die straat af
toe sien ek jou spook
en ek wonder wat maak ek, laf
“hy’s nie hier nie,” se die man wat rook…

dan kyk ek op, tel die stukke op
en stap maar aan
want hoekom sal ek stop
as ek kan…

‘n man met n snor vat my hand
op die hoek van die straat
trek my oor na die ander kant
want ons is al weer laat…

Breeze

I lay in my bed, staring
at the sliver of light
coming in through the crack
between the doors.

The night deathly quiet, listening
to the nothingness
from down in the street
into eternity.

My room is warm, and stuffy
left over from the day, the heat
from our bodies replenishing
the war chest of summer.

The sea breeze is cool, and fragrant
as it passes over us mixing
salty air, the smell of boys
and your sandalwood hair.

The silence speaks loudly, presses
down with force on me
as my chest rises and falls
deeper and deeper, into the depths of you.

I see nothing, and I hear nothing
but the colossal weight
of eternity beyond my door
and the pale streak of light on my floor.

A fine silver thing, draped
across my clavicles
glints at the darkness
and reflects in your eyes.

I reach across, to feel
if you’re there, but you’re not
just the scent of the sea
the sandalwood, the breeze over me.