Koleka Putuma

Often, the surroundings of people living in poverty are depicted in a negative sense while ignoring the familial love that enables them to endure.

Here’s a poem for your consideration by South African poet Koleka Putuma (born 1993), poet, performer and theatre artist who appeared on the South African literary scene with her debut collection Collective Amnesia (2017), which became an immediate bestseller.

Putuma is seen as an important young voice in South African poetry. She belongs to a generation without memories of apartheid, but which still deals with its consequences and repercussions on a daily basis. As a result, her work probes themes such as race, homophobia, womanhood, and the workings of power structures in relationships, religion and politics.

Black Joy

We were spanked for each other’s sins.
Spanked in syllables and by the word of God.
Before dark meant home time.

My grandmother’s mattress
knew each of my
siblings,
cousins,
and the neighbour’s children’s
morning breath
By name.

A single mattress spread on the floor was enough for all of us.

Bread slices were buttered with iRama
and rolled into sausage shapes;
we had it with black rooibos, we did not ask for cheese.

We were filled.

My cousins and I would gather around one large bowl of umngqusho,
each with their own spoon.
Sugar water completed the meal.
We were home and whole.

But
isn’t it funny?
That when they ask about black childhood,
all they are interested in is our pain,
as if the joy-parts were accidental.

I write love poems, too,
but
you only want to see my mouth torn open in protest,
as if my mouth were a wound
with pus and gangrene
for joy.

– by Koleka Putuma