WALK FAST, WHISTLE walk fast, whistle cock your ears and listen hold your line hold your own wind the window down tap the beat on the wheel look up, greet touch a hand and feel float a thought to the rafters smile at strangers do not diet don’t be quiet eat tomato sauce do not hold back a tear drink beer do not drink and drive talk less about yourself talk less mess up, apologize eat pie humble pie open your eyes look inside your friends and ask them how they are take a trip round the darkest bends together, tracking the trail of the wandering star to as far as the road goes the ship would sail the story slows hits a sandbank and the phosphorescence in the water glows and grows a blanket of silence in which you can be wrapped rapapapapap-rapapapap sometimes be quiet for an hour sit in the veld and observe if not ants, birds if not birds, bats if not bats, buck pick up pretty stones and twisted roots seed pods and mice skulls carry them home arrange them on the sill trace their outlines against the days of life lemonade, cold tea, slowly coffee, with a rusk write with a pen on paper purchase pencils postcards to distant friends travel alone travel far travel to the point where you swivel on your heel and remember where you come from who you are why you came phone your parents phone your siblings phone your school friends phone your sick friends phone your friends with children sometimes, switch off your phone for a week do not check email do not use a computer sleep for twelve hours three days in a row until your dreams return read a thick book a 1000-page book a book with difficult words in it a book with an open ending Roberto Bolaño’s book walk around the house in your underpants or naked without drawing the curtains do push-ups, run when the wind blows strongly lean into it and open your arms like an albatross burp, fart, shit pee outside and especially, next to highways wipe your bum with something other than toilet paper buy the newspaper even if you don’t read it support the idea of a poem write poems, bad or good, hidden or shown purchase binoculars, study birds investigate trees consider different types of grass stop by a road-cutting and look at the layers of rock picnic, own a thermos wrap sandwiches in foil eat peanut butter from the jar drop it like it’s hot drink coca cola when it’s hot drool on your pillow dance laugh cry cut the shit dislike money donate money spend money earn money look after money but dislike money do something you like if it’s an office job remember who’s the boss and who’s in charge and that you’re the latter swim in the sea or in a river or a farm dam hold your breath for a long time open your eyes underwater float on your back close your eyes listen to the sound in your ears the slow, dark, deathly croak of your brittle body’s cooked and cracked organs and bones slowly paddle back to where you can stand look at the person waiting there walk over kiss her ----written by Toast Coetzer
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 07:51:43 +0000
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