Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

David Mungoshi

A POEM ABOUT TIME GOING BY

A POEM ABOUT TIME GOING BY

A POEM ABOUT TIME GOING BY

Once upon a time
I was in diapers
Screaming my lungs out
When the fancy seized me
Now I see me
In diapers again
When an old man’s incontinence
Makes me feel sad and retarded
That is how time marches on
And yes, you too will get there

Once upon a time
You had this joyous laughter in your eyes
And dimples
That made everyone say
Thank heaven for little girls
As they knelt down to pray
Now I see you
In my grandmother’s walk
That is an old song about time and pain
That is what over the years we all gain

Once upon a time
He was full of swag
A high priest of hip-hop culture
With so much to rhyme about
It was his world
And it was all about assertion
And lots of permanent desertion
Of the ideas of lords of graft
And ladies of craft

And that’s how time goes by
New replacing old
Old softening
From the cold lashes of struggle

What is the future then?
No more than a place we wish to be in time
As we swim with the tide
Like salmon bound for fresh waters
Where the cycle must start again
Close

A POEM ABOUT TIME GOING BY

Once upon a time
I was in diapers
Screaming my lungs out
When the fancy seized me
Now I see me
In diapers again
When an old man’s incontinence
Makes me feel sad and retarded
That is how time marches on
And yes, you too will get there

Once upon a time
You had this joyous laughter in your eyes
And dimples
That made everyone say
Thank heaven for little girls
As they knelt down to pray
Now I see you
In my grandmother’s walk
That is an old song about time and pain
That is what over the years we all gain

Once upon a time
He was full of swag
A high priest of hip-hop culture
With so much to rhyme about
It was his world
And it was all about assertion
And lots of permanent desertion
Of the ideas of lords of graft
And ladies of craft

And that’s how time goes by
New replacing old
Old softening
From the cold lashes of struggle

What is the future then?
No more than a place we wish to be in time
As we swim with the tide
Like salmon bound for fresh waters
Where the cycle must start again

A POEM ABOUT TIME GOING BY

Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère