In the absence of chaos

Graham Dukas


It’s been a while since cups

have done anything

but remain upright in their saucers

and even longer

since the ceiling sagged ominously

with the weight of water,

signalling a ruptured pipe.

I cannot remember

when last a table unexpectedly

lost a leg or how long ago

a passing delivery truck,

laden with an assortment

of fruit or scrap metal,

crashed through my living room wall.

Indeed, much of yesterday’s sway

is repeated in the gentle sway of today –

the cat is curled up

like an old Russian hat left lying on the bed,

the view from my window

has tilted neither sharply to the left

nor to the right, and the wall clock

that has watched over our family for years

remains firmly fixed

at ten minutes past seven.

From: McGregor Poetry Anthology 2013

Published by African Sun Press in association with the McGregor Poetry Festival

ISBN number 978-0-620-62302-5


The Poet:

Graham Dukas lives and works in Cape Town. He divides his time between business management and strategy consulting, executive coaching and as a part-time teaching assistant at UCT’s School of Architecture. He started writing at a young age but lost his way as the demands of parenting and earning a living took over as priorities. In recent years he has returned to the pen, inspired by the simple experiences of this peculiar thing called life.

Videopoetry: sy werk met verf op doek

sy werk met verf op doek

met ligte somerkleur

en vaste hand

skilder sy

‘n reuse ronde sfeer

so lig

so sag

so kwesbaar fyn

dit slaan my asem weg

elke dag gaan sy terug

sy soek na skaduwees agter die lig

ek hoor haar grawe in haar grot

jy sal dit nie meer herken nie

waarsku sy

ek skrik

wil haar keer

los die lig

wil ek sê

dis so ragfyn

so kwesbaar en jonk

maar ek bly stil

kyk net na die hoekige donker

wat stadig groei

en die ligte sfeer

al hoe helderder laat skyn

Hester van der Walt

Authority

Finuala Dowling


She’s glad she didn’t inherit my curly hair

and that I don’t try to act young

that I’d never join her at happy hour

or make her a friend on Facebook

or be on Facebook at all

or gate-crash her parties.

She sighs when she has to help me with my phone

or when I wear two pairs of sunglasses at the same time;

laughs when I ask “So what’s this festival called

‘Burn it all up in the Karoo’?”

But when she sits by the kettle with her friend

and the two blonde heads talk in depth about life:

– How do we heal things? How do we solve things?

Is this love? And who are we anyway? –

all I hear is:

“My mom says my mom says my mom says my mom says”

From: McGregor Poetry Anthology 2013

Published by African Sun Press in association with the McGregor Poetry Festival

ISBN number 978-0-620-62302-5


The Poet:

Finuala Dowling is a poet, novelist and creative writing teacher. Her poetry has won the Ingrid Jonker Prize, the Sanlam Prize and the Olive Schreiner Prize. She has read at the Aldeburgh Festival, at Snape Maltings and at all major South African literary festivals.

An Olympian effort at the Mugg & Bean

Graham Dukas


The woman at the table opposite mine

tells the waitress that she won’t tolerate paper

around her giant lemon and poppy seed muffin,

although that’s how they’re baked here.

Her companion, her husband I gather

from his weathered and acquiescent bearing,

seems less concerned about the muffin’s appearance,

but she makes the decision for both of them.

And so the muffins arrive, without paper skirts,

but generously adorned with grated cheese

and something that looks like jellied tongue

but is probably just a dollop of cheap raspberry jam.

To the sound of Kris Kristofferson and Dolly Parton

going on about islands in the stream, the two dive in

and although she spews words for the duration

and he remains as quiet as the chair he sits on,

they get the muffins, cheese and cheap jam down

in much the same time. And I get to thinking

that this could become an Olympic event for couples –

muffin speed-eating for the dull and sadly adrift.

From: McGregor Poetry Anthology 2013

Published by African Sun Press in association with the McGregor Poetry Festival

ISBN number 978-0-620-62302-5


The Poet:

Graham Dukas lives and works in Cape Town. He divides his time between business management and strategy consulting, executive coaching and as a part-time teaching assistant at UCT’s School of Architecture. He started writing at a young age but lost his way as the demands of parenting and earning a living took over as priorities. In recent years he has returned to the pen, inspired by the simple experiences of this peculiar thing called life.