3 Poems by Farouk Asvat

 [] A PERFECT DAY TO KILL MYSELF 

●
I prayed to god:
take me
from my place of oppression and turmoil
to my place of peace and tranquility

so He took me

to a place where
earthquakes and volcanoes
hurricanes and tsunamis
come with the frequency of a breath.

     ●
     The sun slotted in
     slowly
suddenly
     into the ocean;
     the moon was full,
     the sea gentle,
     and the crabs uneasy

     It was the perfect night
     and I had no one to live for

          ●
          The tsunami
          gently wrapped itself around the island
          withdrew deep into the deep ocean
          came back with a gentle wave
          and silently passed us by

          It was a perfect day
          and I had no one to die for

●
               And still I sail upon the water


[] PAPAYA SUNSET 

Papayas splashed across the horizon
Raspberries sailing under apricot clouds
Orange juice dripping from heaven
Snowy egrets dancing across strawberry clouds
Powder blue patches where the sky isn't bleeding
And blueberries cruising in upon the evening waves


[] NOW THAT I KNOW  

Now that I know who God is
I have to find myself
(again)

Now that I know what love is
I wait for love to find me
(again)


Bionote

[] FAROUK ASVAT was banned by the South African regime between 1973 and 1978; and nominated an Amnesty International "Prisoner of Conscience".  He has received numerous death threats for his views and his writings.  He won the Vita Literary Award for his anthology, A Celebration of Flames.  He was awarded the Fulbright Scholarship to the University of California at Berkeley; the EOC Scholarship to the Vrije Universiteit in the Netherlands; the Kwanzaa Honors Certificate by the Africa Network in the United States; and his poem was selected to represent South Africa in the International Portland Review.  His writings have been published in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Turkey, Switzerland, Netherlands, France, Germany, England & South Africa; and been translated into French, Dutch, Portuguese and Turkish.

Publications:
Sadness In The House Of Love (novel)
The Gathering Of The Storm (novel)
I Dream In Long Sentences (poetry)
The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs (poetry)
A Celebration Of Flames (poetry)
The Time Of Our Lives (poetry)
Bra Frooks … (poetry,)
Weapons Of Words (literary criticism)
[all his books are published by amazon on paperback & kindle]