i’m linking things i’m beginning to see
the length of this organ, my dying land
all the mistakes my god has learned
they say the body is wise
in truth and in suffering
biding a time that knows no limits
i’m linking things i’m beginning to see
what became of the san people
who can tell us what happened
and the truth must be the truth
inside our bodies
the terrible words must burn.
Mxolisi Nyezwa is founder and editor of Kotaz, now in its fourteenth year.
CORRIE WILLIAMSON
Red draws their tiny eye, and every hummingbird / feeder you can buy blooms a plastic, stoic / ruby, effigy of flower, tadasana of red. Already / they have eaten me out of sugar, but forgetful today / I’ve left the sliding porch door wide, and on my couch /
a cheery wool blanket...
J.D. SCRIMGEOUR
You’re floundering in flashes of light and dark, / so after a few minutes you scoot inside / because January’s cold, and ask your wife for help, / embarrassed you can’t do even this simple task. / She peers over her glasses, studies the tape, / then returns it unstuck, separated...
LYNNE THOMPSON Before I was north and south of a new country / I was divided from I was a tactic I was / a slave-trading port / Before I was remade as Amerindian / I was sugar as the main crop / Before I was overworked and underfed / I was selected for immediate punishment