Tuesday, March 19Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Gutter Talk

early mornings in plettenberg bay

five am & the sun was not yet high 

but it was warm still and bright 

plett sun is a different breed

rich was by my side back then &

red flocks flew west when they heard 

that laugh hingeless & hungered &

hollering oorah those ears car 

doors on a sedan in midsummer

left open to cool him down

I was in Kensington when he next 

called midday my time midnight his

I heard the tik screech through

his jangled mind & lacerate his 

words discordant until the 

teakettle boiled into a goodbye 

& the smack of bone on tile

it was a sickening sound

at night I dream of africa

the waves smash against my mind

& the moon is still not high 

she sits upon the rocks & 

spreads her legs out wide

over the naartjie trees around us 

stretches a slight skimmed sky 

of black that is brimming with 

empty & more stars than mistakes 

combined

Photo credits: Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash