Vignettes of a South African Township called Mdantsane

Sunday, January 23, 2011

In Exile - Stephen Watson

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Even now, years later when at night the longing comes
nothing matters anymore – nor his memory of the people
the vile, pretentious rich, corrupted poor, those politics
that beggar all description, that all but beggared him-
nothing matters now but his desire, but this mad longing
to know that there is still a place, that it still exists,
that you can come on that same road round Devil’s Peak
and there will be, as there was before, almost an evening,
that softness in the summer dark, the same warmth rising,
breathing from an earth long out of reach of its sunset.

All the rest is irrelevant......


Stephen Watson teaches English at the University of Cape Town
This part of a poem is from his book, In This City published in 1986 one of those few rare books that I have


Watercolor by Amitabh Mitra

5 comments:

  1. very powerful, amitabh. do you have more by him?

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  2. Yes, Shree, I have his book which I can copy and send it to you.
    Thanks
    I did try to call you today

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  3. Hello Thinkopotamus, you can buy his wonderful books online at Loot.co.za or Kalahari.net.

    I'd strongly encourage you to do so, rather than accepting copies.

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  4. hey i read this poem from a book SEASONS TO COME 3rd edition and i cold not help but search and now i am just overwhelmed at the beauty of it. i love it so much more

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