precious
lazy summer sun
faces eager autumn moon:
i shine silver-gold
© Sara Dias
lazy summer sun
faces eager autumn moon:
i shine silver-gold
© Sara Dias
‘n laat-somer son
deel die dag
met ‘n haastige
herfs maan:
ek gloei warm goud
aan my een kant,
en koel silwer
aan my ander;
en ek skitter
in die stralespel
van dié twee magsfere
© Sara Dias
a late-summer sun
shares the sky
with an eager
autumn moon:
i glow warm gold
on my right,
and cool silver
on my left,
and i am glorious
in the combined radiance
of such powers
© Sara Dias
gebuk onder die gewig
van ‘n mensemassa droom,
struikel politieke poue
oor mekaar se pronkvere
en raak verstrik
in leë beloftes.
© sara dias
Rocked in the riptide
of the death of my father,
wave-tossed and churned
in that heedless harbour,
I tear at the binds
of that storm-wracked port
Slipping free
from the bollards
of that heaving quay,
I leave; scudding on waves
of vast possibility
And I think: what sport!
© sara dias
our shadows
slip through
the flimsy facades
of our beliefs
to settle
in true colour,
untainted by tones
of Yours and Mine:
in stark silhouette
there is no gloss
on our greed,
no gold to gild
divisive writings,
no glamour in
flaming slogans;
there is no caste
in the shade we cast:
no heroes adorned
amidst the debris of war,
no manliness
in the purple of bruises,
or nobility
in the blues of beatings;
we cannot outrun
the mottled [...]
Vernal I
desperate young doves
dodging the cruel cawing crows -
virile spring is near
Vernal II
far from the city
i dwell in birdsung stillness:
spring’s chitter-chatter
© sara dias
(Freedom Day)
fourteen summers on
we still stand in queues waiting …
for the promised land
© sara dias
Bloated with potential,
powered by self-interest,
our Freedom Day taxis
hurtle down main roads
ignoring safety,
discarding promises,
ejecting objectors
and dismissing criticism
with equal abandon.
© sara dias
give us,
this Freedom Day,
our daily bread:
your bling-bling,
cellphones
and beemers -
peace,
unity
and
dignity
be damned -
along with
your precious
loved ones -
a hungry man
is an angry man:
feardom rules OK!
© sara dias
Terwyl Bosvark
en Kwêvoël -
kampmoderators
van die Boerevlei Blog -
steeds aanjakker
oor die bjoerefoel Vierkleur
wat op hul Webblad wapper,
skiet Wim van Oranje
en Rooi Jan
bam-bam met
wysvinger en duim
na alles wat beweeg:
vlieg of vlooi,
en hulle almal,
soos my broer Bok,
plies-plas steeds
tussen die wit en die donker
van bloedselle
geweek in
armoede en onreg -
en so vra hulle vergifnis:
Waaroor gaan die groot bohaai?
© sara dias
our transformation
is a Cape spring taxi ride:
a crush in a rush
© sara dias
the rarest blue pearl
adrift on spring’s amber tide:
ink-stained in scripture
© Sara Dias
First published: Asahi Haikuist Network, February 20, 2009.
two cranes fly, sun-link
torn in frozen cityscapes;
in moonlight mended
© Sara Dias
in the heat of midday
my thoughts are silenced as
moisture evaporates from my eyes
still drowsily browsing,
sentences lose fluidity and
I cannot muster words into meaning
I watch as you yield every effort:
your wrist wilts and your hand droops,
and still open, the book
folds beneath your weight
and tamps down brittle pages:
dessicated chapters become pressed flowers,
mere leaves of vague significance;
crumbling and [...]