Poem

Keorapetse Kgositsile

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deep in your cheeks
your specific laughter owns
all things south of the ghosts
we once were. straight ahead

the memory beckons from the future
you and I a tribe of colours
this song that dance
godlike rhythms to birth
footsteps of memory
the very soul aspires to. Songs

of origins songs of constant beginnings
what is this thing called
love

© 2002, Keorapetse Kgositsile
From: If I Could Sing
Publisher: Kwela Publishers, South Africa

Keorapetse Kgositsile

Keorapetse Kgositsile

(South Africa, 1938 - 2018)

Born in 1938, Keorapetse ‘Willie’ Kgositsile left South Africa in 1961 as one of the first young ANC members instructed to do so by the leadership of the liberation movement. He was a founding member of the ANC Department of Education as well as that of Arts and Culture. The recipient of many poetry awards, he has also studied and taught Literature and Creative Writing at a number of universiti...

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Origins

deep in your cheeks
your specific laughter owns
all things south of the ghosts
we once were. straight ahead

the memory beckons from the future
you and I a tribe of colours
this song that dance
godlike rhythms to birth
footsteps of memory
the very soul aspires to. Songs

of origins songs of constant beginnings
what is this thing called
love

From: If I Could Sing

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