Poem
Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali
ALWAYS A SUSPECT
I get up in the morningand dress up like a gentleman –
A white shirt, a tie and a suit.
I walk into the street
to be met by a man
who tells me “to produce.”
I show him
the document of my existence
to be scrutinised and given the nod.
Then I enter the foyer of the building
to have my way barred by a commissionaire
“What do you want?”
I trudge the city pavements
side by side with “madam”
who shifts her handbag
from my side to the other,
and looks at me with eyes that say
“Ha! Ha! I know who you are;
beneath those fine clothes
ticks the heart of a thief.”
© Translation: 1971, Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali
From: Sounds of a Cowhide Drum
Publisher: Renoster, Johannesburg, 1971
Sounds of a Cowhide Drum was first published in English in 1971 by Lionel Abrahams. The 2012 re-issue of the book carries a simultaneous translation of the poems into Zulu.
From: Sounds of a Cowhide Drum
Publisher: Renoster, Johannesburg, 1971
UMSOLWA NJALO
UMSOLWA NJALO
Ngivuka ekuseningigqoke njengenene –
Ihembe elimhlophe, uthayi, nensudi.
Ngihamba esitaladini
Bese ngihlangabezwa indoda
engitshela ukuthi “khiqiza.”
Ngiyikhombisa
Ubhukwana wempilo yami
Ukuthi ucwaningwe bese inginika ukuqekuza.
Besengingena emnyango omkhulu webhilidi
ngithole indlela ivalwe ngunogada
“Ufunani?”
Ngiphaquza imisinga yedolobhakazi
uhlangothi nohlangothi no “misisi”
ogudluzela isikhwama sakhe ngakolunye,
angibheke ngamehlo athi
“We! Klibhi! Ngiyakwazi ukuthi ungubani;
ngaphansi kwalezosingubo zikanokusho
kuncencetha inhliziyo yesela.”
© 2012, Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali
From: Sounds of a Cowhide Drum / Imisindo Yesigubhu Sesikhumba Senkomo
Publisher: Jacana Media, Johannesburg
From: Sounds of a Cowhide Drum / Imisindo Yesigubhu Sesikhumba Senkomo
Publisher: Jacana Media, Johannesburg
Poems
Poems of Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali
Close
ALWAYS A SUSPECT
I get up in the morningand dress up like a gentleman –
A white shirt, a tie and a suit.
I walk into the street
to be met by a man
who tells me “to produce.”
I show him
the document of my existence
to be scrutinised and given the nod.
Then I enter the foyer of the building
to have my way barred by a commissionaire
“What do you want?”
I trudge the city pavements
side by side with “madam”
who shifts her handbag
from my side to the other,
and looks at me with eyes that say
“Ha! Ha! I know who you are;
beneath those fine clothes
ticks the heart of a thief.”
© 1971, Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali
From: Sounds of a Cowhide Drum
Publisher: 1971, Renoster, Johannesburg
Sounds of a Cowhide Drum was first published in English in 1971 by Lionel Abrahams. The 2012 re-issue of the book carries a simultaneous translation of the poems into Zulu.
From: Sounds of a Cowhide Drum
Publisher: 1971, Renoster, Johannesburg
ALWAYS A SUSPECT
I get up in the morningand dress up like a gentleman –
A white shirt, a tie and a suit.
I walk into the street
to be met by a man
who tells me “to produce.”
I show him
the document of my existence
to be scrutinised and given the nod.
Then I enter the foyer of the building
to have my way barred by a commissionaire
“What do you want?”
I trudge the city pavements
side by side with “madam”
who shifts her handbag
from my side to the other,
and looks at me with eyes that say
“Ha! Ha! I know who you are;
beneath those fine clothes
ticks the heart of a thief.”
© 1971, Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali
From: Sounds of a Cowhide Drum
Publisher: 1971, Renoster, Johannesburg
Sounds of a Cowhide Drum was first published in English in 1971 by Lionel Abrahams. The 2012 re-issue of the book carries a simultaneous translation of the poems into Zulu.
From: Sounds of a Cowhide Drum
Publisher: 1971, Renoster, Johannesburg
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