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
...