Poem
Mongane Wally Serote
SHADOWS IN MOTION: BRA-ZEKE MPHAHLELE
SHADOWS IN MOTION: BRA-ZEKE MPHAHLELE
SHADOWS IN MOTION: BRA-ZEKE MPHAHLELE
1how do we learn from what we talk
and from what we hear
how do we learn
that when an eye is poked out
what remains is a hole
that this assaulted space
will never be the same again
that the hole that remains is like a womb
it throbs and throbs with memory
2
the eye,
with its hasty footsteps moves and moves
yet when it rests, like a river which heaves with breath
but spreads and spreads in motionlessness
we read what the eye writes
like
eyes can break like a branch loaded with fruit
3
since there is no such thing as choice
like
the eyes see what they see
let the hole throb
scars are moments where we have been
like
one with one foot must move must still move
© 1975, Mongane Wally Serote
From: Behold Mama, Flowers
Publisher: AD Donker, Johannesburg
From: Behold Mama, Flowers
Publisher: AD Donker, Johannesburg
berkeley, california, 1975
Bra-Zeke Mphahlele refers to the Afrikan writer, philosopher and academic, Es\'kia Mphahlele (1919-2008). Serote\'s tribute to him appears in this obituary:
http://www.sundayindependent.co.za/general/print_article.php?fArticleId=4691778
Poems
Poems of Mongane Wally Serote
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SHADOWS IN MOTION: BRA-ZEKE MPHAHLELE
1how do we learn from what we talk
and from what we hear
how do we learn
that when an eye is poked out
what remains is a hole
that this assaulted space
will never be the same again
that the hole that remains is like a womb
it throbs and throbs with memory
2
the eye,
with its hasty footsteps moves and moves
yet when it rests, like a river which heaves with breath
but spreads and spreads in motionlessness
we read what the eye writes
like
eyes can break like a branch loaded with fruit
3
since there is no such thing as choice
like
the eyes see what they see
let the hole throb
scars are moments where we have been
like
one with one foot must move must still move
From: Behold Mama, Flowers
berkeley, california, 1975
Bra-Zeke Mphahlele refers to the Afrikan writer, philosopher and academic, Es\'kia Mphahlele (1919-2008). Serote\'s tribute to him appears in this obituary:
http://www.sundayindependent.co.za/general/print_article.php?fArticleId=4691778
SHADOWS IN MOTION: BRA-ZEKE MPHAHLELE
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