17Jul
Alvin Kathembe
Johannesburg/Nairobi
Poet, Student Pilot, budding philosopher
URL: http://www.writerscafe.org/TMA
Twitter:@ThatManVizzle
Four Easy Steps to Success – For Dummies
A Poem by Alvin L. Kathembe
Even if you do have the potential
You must be energetic -
Get moving! The only kind that’s any use
Is energy kinetic.
And even if your calling’s voice
Is tinged with pain and sadness
Remember; we mistake joy for pain
And genius for madness.
And maybe, if you’re lucky,
You’ll make it worth the while
And at the tail end of your life’s work
You will look back with a smile.
1Jul
At what point does it all end? Life, Love, Peace, Music, Education, Experience…The River Nile
The thought of everything that life holds is extremely overwhelming-all the factors that go into a full 24 hour day.
If you’re religious or superstitious you are probably thinking about all the near-misses; bad wishes, bad thoughts, karma, walking under that ladder. If you are an empathetic person you are thinking about the myriad of injustices that go on in the world today-pollution, desertification, child labour, money laundering and all the evil concieved by the Human race.
22May
The human race has come a long way. We have broken boundaries scientifically, technologically and morally in ways the Homo Sapiens 1000 years ago wouldn’t have been able to fathom. Sure, it must’ve crossed their minds the same way the writers of Star Trek and The Jetsons imagined Earth centuries from now and brought ‘the future’ to our television screens, but what is happening today would shock our ancestors.
Development is a good thing, but are we truly better off?
There are side effects to 21st century ingenuity. The obvious is global warming which summarizes a whole myriad of factors like erosion due to deforesting which is a result of the growing population in the world and hence large scale expansion of concrete jungles. We could also throw in gasses emitted by factories, vehicles, mass plundering of natural resources and not to mention the diminishing life expectancy rates.
6May
KK (Age: 29)
Banker/one-half of IllTown Kings
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Twitter:@fraizh
What’s up in Ill Town?!!! That’s got to be the coolest phrase I’ve written so far. I’ll tell you what’s up. I headed to the beach one Sunday morning to meet up with one of the most refreshing personalities I’ve come across during my stay in Dar. A regular on the scene, KK is definitely someone you’ve spotted around Dar, usually the guy with the coolest T-shirt or sleekest suit. One outstanding quality is his sense of humour and his down to earth persona.
I was surprised when I heard about a record linked to KK featuring Chidi Benz on the radio, so I caught up with him to chat about IllTown Kings, memories and tattoos!
FULL ARTICLE »
6May
Alvin Kathembe
Port Elizabeth/Capetown, SA
Poet, Student Pilot, budding philosopher
URL: http://www.writerscafe.org/TMA
Twitter:@ThatManVizzle
“I write for the mind…and if I touch your heart while I’m at it, I’ll take it.”- Alvin Kathembe
Man-Whisperers
Resorting to irreverence
In a bid to remain relevant
They have our ears, they have our hearts
And they whisper…
Into our minds through tubes-
Call it thought transfusion -
Tales of murder, lies and crime
Bugattis on rims
Stacks on deck
Hoes in the back
And choppers in the trunk…
They exaggerate their lifestyle
Try their best to make us like them
Then they whisper in our ears
And make us want to be just like them
’Cause all the bad bitches
Hang with their dawgs
None of them use their brain -
Except when they’re going down -
Yeah, all their girls be D-graded
And they’ll say anything just to sound ‘hard’
Lie about anything
Cross any line
And nobody cares, as long as it rhymes
Even when their art
Degenerates into blasphemy
We say it’s just a song
And we don’t agree with them
But we still nod our heads…