The poor blacks of the world

Abstract

the poor blacks of the world Mxolisi Nyezwa (bio) they come fromrough buildingsone after the othermoaningthey are the long pissesof white galleriesthe red faeces of dogsthey boast of buriedcemeteriesand heavy chainsof nocturnal bloodand their hungry mouthson a different daythey will be violentlike caterpillarsangel birds hovering abovecovered with ashdreaded by the wine farmersin the daytimeanguish screamsits head offthere will be rowsof dead peoplelong numbersof drunkardspitchers with strong liquidsthere will be skulls of menand statuesmocking historyfingernailsof blood and mossbroken peoplesodomy will stayin the worldwith mischiefvery quickly [End Page 21] display the gonorrheain the lungthe poor blacks will staybetween the firm mollusksand the beheaded mongrelsthey are the careless colouredsand the stinking kaffirsthey search the veinsof white thighsbeneath the cape's blond torsothe poor blacks are shattered dancersunder the headless shrinein simon's townthey are the sudden church bellsfading slowly like vomitfrom the entire world. [End Page 22] Mxolisi Nyezwa Mxolisi Nyezwa grew up in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, where he still lives. He manages a not-for-profit arts and culture organization, Imbizo Arts, in Motherwell Township. He has published five books of poetry, Song Trials (Poetry Gecko, 2000), New Country (UKZN Press, 2008), Malikhanye (Deep South Press, 2011), Ndiyoyika (2017), and Songs from the Earth (2017). Nyezwa is the founder and editor of the cultural magazine Kotaz, now in its seventeenth year. He teaches creative writing at Rhodes University. Copyright © 2017 Middlebury College Publications