onday, September 3, 2012 The Road to Somelo From the end of the battered, weather-grilled tarmac in Samedupe, around 20 kilos from Maun, starts a road that I pray, from the bottom of my heart that one of the top politicians, preferably the president himself, should experience a ride on. The road will shake the contents of his stomach until his pukes. It will shift the brain in his skull and render him unfit for office – that is for sure. This is the road to a small village (or a settlement as some would name it) called Somelo. The dusty, rutted road is imbedded with hard, sharp stones that punch painfully at the tyres. I feel every grind and bump as though they hit directly on my bare feet. The ditches and holes make me grit my teeth in a surge of sickness. I hear the metal structure of the highly-built Nissan Patrol 4X4 Station Wagon complain under the assault. A hail of gravel hammers the underneath of the vehicle, scattering loose stones in idiot profusion. I grimace, gripping the back of the front seat for support. Outside, the vegetation is dull and hopeless. Dry shrubs and brittle trees stand on the roadside like corpses, watching every brutal movement on the road like spectators at an illegal, deadly race. There seem to be no air outside, and that we survive from the blowing aircon. But that’s not the case, of course. At one crazy point, an anthill straddles the road, as though placed there with an evil intent. The Nissan swerves around it and barrows through thick sand. The road stretches on and on, getting worse with every kilometre. Now and then, an antelope swiftly crosses the road. After very many kilometres of bumping and shaking, we pass a stationary and deserted light weight bakkie on the road with flat tyres. The poor machine couldn’t survive the cruel road. I look back at the road behind us. I can’t see the bakkie. A thick cloud of dust trails us. Then I look ahead again and I see the first road sign ever. The board says, ‘Somelo 25Km’. That’s a lie, I say to my companions. I tell them that the true distance, on this road, is 250Km. My head is aching. My body is painful. Posted by Dredd X at 12:02 AM No comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest Links to this post Tuesday, August 28, 2012 Queen Majesty There is a sudden change in the atmosphere as you easily gait into my garden, one foot placed gracefully in front of another. You step on the grass carpet, dressed magnificently in my favourite colour, black. The thick, rich and glossy locks of your hair are clasped over your head like a royal crown. Your beautiful and long black skirt cascades down to your ankles, completely concealing them and falling over your insteps. It shimmers in glossy ebony waves as you saunter along like a proud lioness. The loose, free-flowing skirt inevitably takes the form of that voluminous, magnetic body. It waffles like a Japanese kimono in response to the light breeze. The voluptuous bulge of your curves as they sway with every step you take makes my eyeballs pop out. You have the walk of a model in a… What do they call it? Yes, catwalk. Everything about you oozes respectable sensuality. Sunlight kisses your unblemished face and you smile. The contagious smile spills off your face and radiates into the already nectarous air. I feel your smile as it melts the marrow in my bones. I reel with excitement. Here comes Queen Majesty... Posted by Dredd X at 2:12 PM No comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest Links to this post Friday, July 20, 2012 New Words New and unfamiliar words always have a peculiar way of interesting me. English is my second language but whenever I read a book and come across a strange word, I never brush it aside and pass it by. Neither do I just assume the meaning from the context within which the word has been used. New words spark up a deep curiosity within me. They conjure varying possibilities in my mind and hence perturb the mind from further focus in the very act of reading. Malcolm X read the dictionary from A to Z and I assume that by so doing, he was preparing himself from the dilemma that unfamiliar words can rouse. I contemplate doing this. Posted by Dredd X at 9:39 AM No comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest Links to this post Wednesday, July 18, 2012 Soldier Boy (Extract) Neo stepped in. To Kgotla’s eyes, she walked in slow motion. Her elegant body was dressed in a magnificent outfit. She walked towards the bed, glamorous in every way. She did not smile, yet her face rippled with astounding beauty. Like spring rain, tears coursed down her cheeks. Kgotla tried to stand up but the casts would not let him. The doctor sneaked out and disappeared. Neo looked at Kgotla through tear filled eyes and smiled for the first time. He smiled back, like a child at the sight of candy. She leaned over the bed and their lips locked in an explosive bang. They kissed vehemently. Careful not to step on his healing limbs, she climbed on the bed and lay by his side. None of them had spoken a word. Neo pulled the blankets and burrowed underneath. They faced each other, heads pressed on the same pillow, faces nearly touching. Neo opened her mouth to speak. “Shhh...” Kgotla whispered. “Hush, don’t say a word. Don’t even lift that head off the pillow. I love it when your eyes look at me that way. I’d like to wake up like this every morning. So sleepy, your eyes, yet they melt the marrow in my bones.” Neo’s succulent lips twitched in a tiny, almost hesitant smile. For a fleeting moment her teeth sparkled like diamonds and briskly disappeared behind the luscious lips. She snuggled closer to him, the fabric of her dress brushing against his skin. Kgotla shuddered. She carefully pulled him closer and locked her hands around him. In no time, they were both fast asleep, in each other’s comfort. This is an extract from my short story, Soldier Boy. Its yet another attempt at a romantic tale that tells of a young man whose life is infested by harsh challenges including unemployment and lack of financial stability. Although hes performed exceptionally well at university, earning himself an outstanding degree, he continues to roam the streets. He questions the value of education and begins to doubt the cliché, Education is the Key. Just when things turn out positively for him, just when he anticipates a better future, just when he thought he found the love of his life, he comes crashing down again - this time harder than he ever did. What is life? What is love? Soldier Boy is a re-write of what used to be called Tears of a Soldier, and then later changed to The Soldier. Its been rewritten several times and the title Soldier Boy seems to fit well, for now. I hope it sticks. Posted by Dredd X at 9:36 AM 1 comment: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest Links to this post Friday, July 13, 2012 The End (Extract) Quixotic I was, perhaps. I remember this particular night. You were in my arms and me in yours, feeling so snug. Red light glowed in my room, bathing us in a warm, amorous red illumination. Oh, how I despise this colour now. Anyway, there we were, entangled in peace and divine love. I recited you a poem. I know you remember this. It’s strange that when I was with you, I turned into a novice poet. No one else knew about this little poet in me, but you, my love. So you listened to my poem on that night. Rain sluiced languidly over the rooftop of my bungalow, a gentle caress of nature. It slithered down the windowpane as if in praise of our love. You absorbed every word and rhyme from my mouth. Then I saw it - the tear, like a tiny diamond on your eyelash. You cried and that touched my heart like it never did before. I kissed your tears dry. You cried because you felt the love. But sadly, it turned out that my love or poems couldn’t buy you clothes. My love or poems couldn’t pay your bills. They couldn’t take you to the movies or aristocratic restaurants. So, to hell with my love and poems! You decided to leave. Extract from my upcoming short story, The End. Unlike Black Diamond, which is an action-packed suspense thriller, The End is a monologue, letter-style type of story. Its heavily emotional and touches on dense issues of a love-affair gone sour, feelings of dislocation, abandonment and betrayal. It is also laden with political commentary told by a depressingly suicidal voice. I just completed this story and starting on another one titled Soldier Boy. Keep watching this space. As a school teacher, a month-long vacation is a writing-vacation for me. I have to use it to the maximum! Peace and love to you... Posted by Dredd X at 7:08 AM No comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest Links to this post Wednesday, July 11, 2012 Family Problems (Adopted) Two men met at a bus stop and struck up a conversation. One of them kept complaining of family problems. Finally, the other man said: You think you have family problems? Listen to my situation, A few years ago, I met a young widow with a grown-up daughter and we got married. Later my father married my stepdaughter. That made my stepdaughter my stepmother and my father became my stepson. Also, my wife became mother-in-law of her father-in-law. Then the daughter of my wife, my stepmother, had a son. This boy was my half-brother because he was my fathers son, but he was also the son of my wifes daughter which made him my wifes grand-son. That made me the grand-father of my half-brother. This was nothing until my wife and I had a son. Now the half-sister of my son, my stepmother, is also the grandmother. This makes my father the brother-in-law of my child, whose stepsister is my fathers wife, Im my stepmothers brother-in-law, my wife is her own childs aunt, my son is my fathers nephew and Im my own grandfather! Shoo, and you think you have family problems! Posted by Dredd X at 11:36 PM No comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest Links to this post Sunday, July 8, 2012 Black Diamond “Perfect. You see, the government and I are both thieves. But I’m a better thief. These guys are kleptomaniacs. Stealing is in their blood. They have numerous operations going on by which they rob the poor - from taxes to school fees. You even pay for the air you breathe. This is what I call a kakistocracy government,” he smiled and crashed the cigarette stub. “You know what that word means?” Thabo shook his head. “It means a government led by the worst citizens. Such is our government.” Im currently working on this story. Its called Black Diamond. Ive always had this idea of writing an adventure thriller but couldnt just come up with a plot. Then I remembered an English composition I once wrote in high school. It was called The Hidden Cave. Black Diamond is inspired by that composition , or maybe I should say its a development of The Hidden Cave. I hope it turns out to be a master piece. Posted by Dredd X at 8:49 PM No comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest Links to this post
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 08:52:01 +0000