A Conversation in Poem
Mxolisi Nyezwa & F. Geoffrey Johnson

Chapbook, "Brickworks", (2009)

Brickworks, Front Cover (2009)

Song for the New Man

this day onward into the indestructible future
we will fight fire with fire
tell me where they have hidden the gold

now where have they hidden the gold
listen to this, because the gods of all the infernos and explosives
carry their handkerchiefs in their hands
the thieves run perplexed toward a jubilant storm
the bastards and morons with silver tongues
the devils and sad bitches with roses
and black knives
geoff, my brother we have sixty one conversations
to place at market-related price on the jse
man, there are two sides to any story
one for death and destruction and the discolouring
of green leaves
another for the smallest bird in the universe
the sweetest voice in the universe

man, they took away your culture and left a snake with legs
like the dying wings of the sun
the morons drove three nails through textiles
through ports and the mouths of serious animals
​
listen, they took the gold and left bank notes
on which is written the face of a smiling murderer
they took the men and  the women and the children
and left a bemused trail of human blood
the revolution is not over, I swear!
we will play the jazz of our destruction
we will count the arms and bodies of a fleeing wind

listen my brother, it takes a long time
to tame an angry sea, any sea
it takes a long time for a continent to heal

listen! they took the women
took the children away
africa weeps to this day

i swear we are collecting the machetes
and the sticks, the new guns and the airplanes
that spit more fire, we are collecting nuclear machinery
to return fire with fire, wind with wind, thunder with thunder
we’ve learnt not to trust
we’ve seen the thundering of the sky right in
front
of our eyes, the sad bemused spectacle of the ancient world
raped and maimed in our lifetime

where are all the sixty thieves
the careless bastards
and the sons and daughters
of thieves

​NOTE: "jse" is johannesburg stock exchange
Copyright © 2009, Mxolisi Nyezwa, All rights reserved
From the chapbook, Brickworks, by F. Geoffrey Johnson, 2009
First published by Caversham Press, South Africa, 2009
Hand-bound Limited Edition of 24

Brickworks, Back Cover (2009)

Response to "Song for the New Man"

my brother mxolisi
i agree, there are two sides to every story
i also agree, the devil has worked overtime to destroy
the children of our mothers land
there is no just in the justice meted
yet, the road to civility cannot be
through more destruction

fighting fire with fire leaves a land fit
only for the vanquished
thunder with thunder will rock the heavens
but leave nothing on the plate of the distraught

look at history to see the trail machetes and sticks
destroyers and bombs leave
the trail of blood will run thick but will this
blood nourish people starving
will revenge raise our children to adults
will death harvest a crop of leaders for the future

it is all right to be angry
you cannot be angrier than the blacks in america
who try to grasp any straws available of their heritage
the great grandchildren of slaves who were traded, stolen and sold
murdered and hung fighting for freedom
the children of slaves who are orphans to a past of richness
yet cannot claim a land they know their ancestors came from
and yet are judged today for the lack of melanin in their skin
or the straightness of their hair, due to the rape of their mothers, mothers
you cannot be any angrier than the palestinians
who have battled the jews since cain and able
or the japanese who were bombed with nuclear weapons
or the serbians, red indians or anyone else who have been
decimated by violence
where is their benefit from retaliation, from death

zimbabwe is not richer for ridding itself of those who colonized them
blood has not brought back the lives of the tutsies
or hutus of rwanda and given their children a life of freedom
bombs have not brought freedom to iraqi children
or given them hope for the future
the congo is not better off because of a war fueled by despots and greed
color is a subplot to the story, evil is the main character

evil cannot survive the light of day
to cover him with more darkness will only
play to his hand, strengthen his resolve
embolden his determination
evil enjoys this game of destruction
especially when it is not on his turf
mxolisi, hope and courage for our children is through peace
does the bull elephant have to tout his strength
does a man beating a woman get her to care for him any better
or love him any more through violence
will more death bring back the mother of ulwazi

i won’t tell you peace is an easy journey
or that I have all of the answers

the dogs unleashed on the civil rights workers
during the sixties, in the usa, were not the perpetrators of hate
the trainers of the dogs were the devils
today we have the opportunity to change the heart
of the new trainers, this is a slow process
but i see evidence of change

this dialogue was not possible fifty years ago
i would not have had the opportunity in america
to travel to south africa and south africa would not have
welcomed me
the fact that i am here, today, at this time, in this place
let’s me know there is hope for our children

we can easily make the choice to kill, to destroy
but we will only have killed the patient and the doctor
not cured the disease, nor brought an end to its cause
i suggest we work on finding a cure to the condition
which brings us so much pain and grief
not taking aspirin or morphine to cover the pain

we can toss metaphors back and forth all day
for this is what poets do
i will go back to america, to my 500 channels of tv
and write and paint and pray and work on
bringing peace to those surrounding me
i will turn on the news and watch to see what
is happening in south africa, being more concerned
because of the relationships i have formed
and weep when friends are killed for no reason
but this still will not change anything

i am not going to preach to grown men about war
or the benefits of peace, for them, the die is cast
i will spend my time among the children
and try to teach them the lessons of love

the makers of bombs benefit when someone buys the bomb
the manufacturers of machetes benefit when the machete is sold
the builders of airplanes and weapons of destruction profit from their sale
they will sit comfortably at home awaiting the next order
sipping a martini, watching cnn and the value of their
stock rise on the jse

until man makes causes which lead to peace
there will be no peace
i end with the words of michael franti
"we can bomb the world to pieces
but we can’t bomb it into peace"

Copyright ©, 2009, F. Geoffrey Johnson, All rights reserved
From the chapbook, Brickworks, by F. Geoffrey Johnson, 2009
First published by Caversham Press, South Africa, 2009
Hand-bound Limited Edition of 24