Poem
Ronelda Kamfer
AN ORDINARY BLUE MONDAY MORNING
it was an ordinary blue Monday morningsomewhere a mother went to identify her child’s corpse
I washed, brushed my teeth and finished my biology assignment
on the fridge there was a note from my mom
asking me not to make the breyani too spicy tonight
my little sister was looking for her socks and by seven thirty I locked the front door
and hid the key in the usual place
at the café I bought two loose cigarettes
and hid them in my sock
at the corner of Wildflower and Rose Street
a girl made jokes with her future killers
in my head Dylan Thomas screamed
do not go gentle into that good night, rage, rage against the dying of the light
in the sex education class my heavily pregnant best friend began to bleed
outside in the street some gunshots rang out
by my first break there was a corpse in School Street
a miscarriage in my classroom
an extension on the biology assignment
and a woman running down the street yelling
and asking the Lord
‘where was Joseph when Jesus got crucified?’
© Translation: 2021, Robert Dorsman
’N GEWONE BLOU MAANDAGOGGEND
’N GEWONE BLOU MAANDAGOGGEND
dit was ’n gewone blou Maandagoggendêrens het ’n ma haar kind se lyk gaan uitken
ek het my gewas, tande geborsel en my bio-taak afgehandel
op die yskas was ’n briefie van my ma
wat vra dat ek tog nie die breyani so sterk moet maak vanaand nie
my sussie het haar sokkies gesoek en by halfag het ek die voordeur gesluit
en die sleutel op die ou plek gaan wegsteek
by die huiswinkel het ek twee los sigarette gekoop
en in my sokkie weggesteek
op die hoek van Wildflower- en Rosestraat
het ’n meisie saam met haar toekomstige moordenaars gejoke
in my kop het Dylan Thomas geskreeu
do not go gentle into that good night, rage, rage against the dying of the light
in die voorligtingklas het my hoogswanger beste vriendin begin bloei
buite in die straat was daar ’n paar gunshots
by eerste pouse was daar ’n lyk in Skoolstraat
’n miskraam in my klas
’n uitstel op die bio-taak
en ’n vrou wat gillend in die straat afhardloop
en vir die Here vra
waar was Josef toe Jesus gekruisig is?’
© 2008, Ronelda Kamfer
From: Noudat slapende honde
Publisher: Kwela,
From: Noudat slapende honde
Publisher: Kwela,
Poems
Poems of Ronelda Kamfer
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AN ORDINARY BLUE MONDAY MORNING
it was an ordinary blue Monday morningsomewhere a mother went to identify her child’s corpse
I washed, brushed my teeth and finished my biology assignment
on the fridge there was a note from my mom
asking me not to make the breyani too spicy tonight
my little sister was looking for her socks and by seven thirty I locked the front door
and hid the key in the usual place
at the café I bought two loose cigarettes
and hid them in my sock
at the corner of Wildflower and Rose Street
a girl made jokes with her future killers
in my head Dylan Thomas screamed
do not go gentle into that good night, rage, rage against the dying of the light
in the sex education class my heavily pregnant best friend began to bleed
outside in the street some gunshots rang out
by my first break there was a corpse in School Street
a miscarriage in my classroom
an extension on the biology assignment
and a woman running down the street yelling
and asking the Lord
‘where was Joseph when Jesus got crucified?’
© 2021, Robert Dorsman
From: Noudat slapende honde
From: Noudat slapende honde
AN ORDINARY BLUE MONDAY MORNING
it was an ordinary blue Monday morningsomewhere a mother went to identify her child’s corpse
I washed, brushed my teeth and finished my biology assignment
on the fridge there was a note from my mom
asking me not to make the breyani too spicy tonight
my little sister was looking for her socks and by seven thirty I locked the front door
and hid the key in the usual place
at the café I bought two loose cigarettes
and hid them in my sock
at the corner of Wildflower and Rose Street
a girl made jokes with her future killers
in my head Dylan Thomas screamed
do not go gentle into that good night, rage, rage against the dying of the light
in the sex education class my heavily pregnant best friend began to bleed
outside in the street some gunshots rang out
by my first break there was a corpse in School Street
a miscarriage in my classroom
an extension on the biology assignment
and a woman running down the street yelling
and asking the Lord
‘where was Joseph when Jesus got crucified?’
© 2021, Robert Dorsman
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