Adrian Different van Wyk | Badilisha Poetry – Pan-African Poets
A Typical Coloured
The darkness of the night overshadows the brightness of the moon.
A wise man once said the misunderstood and jusdgd will eventually lead
Im skeptical about this saying as it challenges my creed
Ive been judged and misunderstood my entire life
That’s enough to weaken any mans strife
I feel the stereo-type of a post apartheid success
A stigma which in my nation does invest.
My nation has been classigfied as so called
Then what does that make me so called black, yellow,blue or am I just a so called person.
Now before stepping to me with your stereo-typical knowledge of special assignment or third degree
I have a brother who hasn’t spent any time in Pollsmor penitentiary
I have a sister who hasn’t been a statistic of teen age pregnancy.
I have a farther who is still around and doesn’t drink himself into a stupa
On a papsak also known as elsies geluk
I definitely don’t do TIK!
Let me tell you a story that my mother told me
She’s my mother so don’t say she lied to me
she told me Adrian m son you a beautiful boy
coz within you is the confider
so don’t feel judged or feel like an outsider
she told me that my skin represents the earths soil.
This was my fact to hold and nobody this fact could spoil.
She told me how my walk contained the clicks of the nama
And how my forefathers fought against the oppression of vasco da gama
So I need you to say yes
Yes to being free
Yes to being the best bes that you can be
Yes to the mother
Yes to the mourner
Yes to the little kid on the street corner
Power to the people tongue twister
Yes to being blessed yes to being free
Yes to being the best be that you can be x2
The darkness of the night will always overshadow the brightness of the moon.
A wise man did once say the misunderstood and judged will eventually lead
Im not skeptical anymore
Because I know im in my creed
It might sound profound
But my time, your time our time
Daai’s reg jy moet dit glo
onse eier mense daar bo
protect daai lay gate
vat soe lekke lewe
terwyl my kinders se kakebeene beewe
van die kouete gemeng
met die klank
van hongerde wat n raasende beat
slat teen hulle tande.
Daai selfde Athens wat onse shine geintercept(Steal) het?
nou soek hull ‘n check met
wil mos lekker lewe
op daai olympic quick fix
ons kyk n lewe?
en vergeet hoe hulle ons gerop’t
Athens se ma se!
2 billion word rond gegooi
op aeroplan praatiejies
gedurend paaties met die beste drankies
negotiations for the betterment
of private transport systems
is al musiek wat die aand aan die brand hou
wat skarrel(scavenge or looking for) net butie die palys se hek
ons mekeer eidas(rather) n private jet
en dan kan ons nog afford om pita-vreeters uit te bail
is nogal n concern
maar Athens wys net n pa
mense wat in lang lyne
staan en wag vir n bietjie kroon
poooof!!! gou kyk is hulle uit gehelp
daar transform n ander man se melk in room
met twee foking biljoen!
YOH! hulle moet net
saam my oppie eerste
vannie maand ko staan
wanne(when) ons mama
se medikasie moet gaan chise
dan sal Athens se “nai my broe, hou’ie kroon(money)”
as hulle net experience hoe it is
om in die vekure lang lyn te wag
en jy moet die dag hospitaal se walm’s side step
anderste sal daai klanke vir jou tackle-
terwyl n ander man
se gul(a flemish spit) jou tref agterjou nek
van n violent hoes
rente kyk n lewe met
2 billjoen dollars?
Athens SE MA SE ….
ko ons rewind na 96
ek staan oppie parade
die tension is hoog
almal is op n paap(nervous)
dis amper soos die messiah self n appearance
daai flam wat laat die pyn verdwyn
ko(coming) nah my land toe!
as daai magtige flam
nie eers vir athens
sy pap dik kan maakie
dan is die hele
operation mos n
Julle vlous rerigíe vir my nie, n’ai rerig
ek onthou die dag na 2010 virrie
land se larnie’s ge’eindig het.
toe die bolle weg gepak was
en tv skerems in winkle vensters-
weer generations begin speel
was die treine weer laat
daar skiet my land se larnie n nogge saad!
kom ek vrae jou iets
vat dit twee biljoen
om die waarheid te piets?
gebruik die kroon
en upgrade vir metro plus
daai help vir Athens————-> This is a saying isnt it? As n mens warm innie bas is? to be a show off…
is mos warm innie bas
ek ontohou toe die tv kanale gelyn
het want daar was niks meer exciting vir die nasie
te wys nie,
net een bra wat man alleen
die parade skoon maak
soos my geskiedenis het
die olympic papiere
lusteloos op die parade rond gewaai.
soos my geskiedenis los hulle
die papiere net da
om vir my te laat op tel
soos my geskiedenis het die parade
gelyk heeltemaal verwoes
so natuurlijk gaan ek kwaad raak nou se ek
ATHENS SE MA SE P@£S!
The poet of this piece speaks from the point of view of a working class individual who makes the connection that South Africa has helped to bail out Greece. The same Greece, whose Capital City Athens, nicked Cape Town in the 1996 Olympic Bid. The speaker reflects on the excitement, which he experienced on the parade in 1996 and cannot understand how the South African government can help the country out who made him feel a false sense of excitement. The speaker dwells into social issues, which are faced in Cape Town, for instance standing the “wrong long lines“ in the day hospital waiting for medication. The recurrence of the phrase “Athens se ma se“ shows a build up in the characters emotion towards the spending of money on another countries bankruptcy
Hier Staan Ek by Adrian Different van Wyk
Adrian “Diff” Van Wyk is a poet, master’s student and facilitator from Kuilsriver, Cape Town. Since 2011 he has curated and produced the monthly InZync Poetry Sessions, organising over 40 shows for the poetry platform. He also acts as a workshop facilitator for the INKredible writing workshop, a weekly creativewriting workshop offered to young writers from the Cape Winelands region. In 2015 he was nominated as one of 200 young South Africans to watch by the Mail & Guardian newspaper in the Arts and Culture category. In May 2015, Diff, travelled with InZync to London in collaboration with the Roundhouse Theatre performing at the Last Word Spoken Word Festival and collaborating on the #TalkingDoorsteps video poetry project. Diff has featured at Mcgregor Poetry Festival, Woordfees, Word N Sound International Youth Poetry Festival, Oppikoppie Music Festival, Open Book Festival and many other expression platforms. You can catch “Diff” at the monthly InZync Session or standing to the left of you waiting to drop a verse in a cypher.