the sophiatown i live in:
is a place i call home
is where i come to from work
is a place riddled with crime
is where i'm proud to be from
is a place being renovated
is where i'm not far from means
is a place that gets frustrated
by the westbury fiends

the sophiatown i read about:
is a place void of silence
is where bra hugh got his trumpet
is a place full of vibrance
is where miriam caught hold of it
is a place that was razed
is where a new place was born
is a place that couldn't be fazed
by the lines that were drawn

the sophiatown i love:
is a place that i live in
is where i've chosen to stay
is a place that i read about
is where that won't go away
is a place that's still here
is where apartheid escaped
is a place made austere
by the forces it shaped

the sophiatown that inspires me:*
is very triumphant
is very intact
so what was your reason
for doing that

here's the way i see it.

i'm an artist, a writer, a gambler, a fighter, a scientist, a scholar, a critic, a failure, a dramatist, a dreamer, a peddler, a nuisance, a bassist, a wanderer, a magician, a follower, a therapist, a liar, a professional, a healer, a pacifist, a chisel, a storyteller, a mathemetician, a physicist, a cook, a puzzler, a loser, a programmer, a lawnmower, a supporter, a musician, a tape-deck, a mirror, a survivor, and a dude.

i'm not very good at any of it.

one of the first songs i learnt to play on a guitar
was about a guy in space
while planet earth was blue
and there was nothing he could do
so he came back

and wrote a bunch more songs i can can play on a guitar
about heathens and spaceboys
and a guy called picasso
who was never an *******
but never came back

and in between he morphed a few times
assumed many guises
genies, heroes and dancers
rebels, dreamers and monsters
and never looked back

and i chuckle to think that up there on mars
whoever he's selling the world to
be it all the young dudes
or you in your red shoes
needn't give it back

i feel grateful for being part of it
all you've left behind
at least one thing is sure
there isn't any more pressure
and i've got your back

it's not just putting up with it
it's so much more than getting into it
agree, or disagree?

but to take a view on anything
you need to put your mind to it
accept, or reject?

go out of your way to make up your mind
i'm not getting paid for that
worth it, or turf it?

we may never mean to cause offence
but we always have to choose a side
hypocrite, or critic?

for me i find it hard to be
two different people simultaneously
missed, or dissed?

in a universe of opportunity
different people need to co-exist
chosen, or frozen?

the fact that you're on time and i'm not
doesn't mean our time's the same
zealous, or jealous?

just because we have our different ways
it's not an excuse to insinuate
grateful, or hateful?

because stereotyping different people
ends up an indictment on oneself
choose it, or lose it?

and when we call each other names
that we may or may not understand
childish, or selfish?


and here's the thing:

it might be worth being benevolent
and help each other through whatever strife
no matter how big or how small

but i guess to be truly tolerant
you should probably live the kind of life
that doesn't need to be tolerated at all

a shape with three sides is a triangle
a useful way to represent the plane
geometrically, at least, besides

a lie is method of deceipt
but transistors can decide
based on where they feel the heat
that strange silicon carbide
makes circuitry complete

a puzzle is a truth that you untangle
a useful way to escape the mundane
a triangle is a shape with three sides
yours, mine, and the truth

b-dumm dumm
b-dumm dumm
b-dumm dumm
b-dumm dumm tchka ta weh...
tchka tchka tchka b-dumm

dumm dumm tchka tsk dumm tchka tish
dumm dumm tchka tsk dumm tchka tash
dumm dumm tchka tsk dumm tchka dish
tsk dumm b-dumm dumm tchka dumm bash

b-dumm dumm tish tchka dumm dumm tash
b-dumm dumm tish tchka dumm dumm tash
boom boom boom tchka tchka dumm bash
dumm bash-bash, dm-bash bash, dm-bish

tchka tchka dumm dumm ting
boom boom tchka tchka dumm bash ting
shik shik shika tika tik tik ting
boom boom tchka shika boom ting bish

boom shika tchka boom bash boom ching
boom, b-dumm dumm tika tika tika ting
boom shika shika boom bish bash beng
tika tika tika dumm boom boom ting

boof.. ka tchka boom boom cha
b-boof boof ka tchka boom boom cha
boom boom ka tchka tchka boom tish
tchka tchka dumm tsk tsk (dubudu) kish

(dubudu) (dubudu) (dubudu) tish
(dubudu) (dubudu) dub dub tesh
(dubudu) (dubudu) (dubudu) tsk tchka dish
dub.. b-dub dub taka tchka ting

dub dub tchka tsk dumm tchka ting
dub dub tchka tsk dumm tchka tash
dub dub tchka tsk dumm tchka ting
dub dub dub, b-dub dub dub mmm
b-dub dub dub, b-dub dub dub mmm
b-dub dub dub, b-dub dub dub mmm
b-dub mmm dub
b-dub mmm dub
b-dub
b-dub
b-dummm

nothing is above what we think
because the perception of reality
is what's thought

nothing is above what we own
because the perception of success
is what's bought

nothing is above what we find
because the perception of fortune
is what's caught

nothing is above what we see
because the perception of distance
is what's short

nothing is above what we want
because the perception of desire
is what's rought

nothing is above what we are
because the perception of selfless
is what's taught

nothing is above my intention
because your perception
of what it is that i do
doesn't make sense to me at all

the light
at the end of the tunnel
was actually a signpost that read
'maybe you should've chosen another tunnel'
so i took it down
because it didn't belong there
and carried on

i hate
being white
so much
right now

not because
there's nothing i can do about it

but because
there's nothing you can do about it either

apparently
history repeats itself
like clockwork

rain is addicted to gravity
pain is addicted to chemistry
love is addicted to empathy
safe is addicted to security
it's all good

dreams are addicted to imagining
age is addicted to hurrying
empty's addicted to nothing
everyone's addicted to something
and it's all good

we all seek comfort and that's just fine
a bit of yours for a bit of mine.

life is too short to give a **** about a country when cats that aren't yours come and **** in your house.

life is too short to give a **** about impression when the art you provide is offensive to most.

life is too short to give a **** about indifference when commerce makes ******* of practical need.

life is too short to give a **** about regret when regret is the debt that you stepped in, you wept yet you kept it aside and it crept, then it slept, then you swept it away, the intrepid, tepid, jelly-like method that weathers fake smiles like the wear in your tires, and claws its way through what you see as desire, then tears it all down when its aimed at yourself before putting you up on the furtherest shelf, and then blaming you, shaming you, changing the way that you saw what you thought that you ought, what you sought, what you bought, why you fought; its the same: you're distraught because any way you look at it, life is just too ******* short.

so getting good at anything
is like pushing up a measure
letting it get good at itself
brings a different kind of pleasure

i've seen too many people try to get clever
and think they're immune
i bet they're immune
pretend to be honest
and hang out forever

this pattern will happen forever and ever
and those that are smart
you'll know if they're smart
have hidden a promise
and hang out forever

two atoms apart that will never be severed
the one makes the dream
the other one dreams
they'll both find their solace
and hang out forever

so getting good at anything
is like a delicate balance
you feed it your blood, sweat and tears
they should all go the distance

when it hurts my heart it shakes my soul
when it hurts my hand it's rock and roll

i am not an idiot
but the more you make me out to be
the more i wanna be one

i am not an idiot
but believe me, i can
but i won't
i can't
so long as you don't let me

i am not an idiot
but i may as well be, after all
i wasn't that much fun

i am not an idiot
as hard as i try, everyday
but i shouldn't
i wouldn't
so don't make me

let it slide, let it go, besides
they weren't even meant to know.

i'm lost

between what i said
and what you heard me say

between what you thought i meant
and what i thought you heard

between what i tried to say
and what you chose to listen to

between what you felt
and how i feel

i'm lost in a sea of ubiquity
you don't understand what this means to me

change is either something different
or what you swapped for a fiver
i wish i was the solitude
you kept as our provider

change will come and change will go
and change comes from within
i wish i had the aptitude
you took that on the chin

change it for another day
let it stay where we decided
i wish i was the gratitude
in which you had confided

change is good at what it does
takes me squarely out the comfort zone
i wish i was a multitude
in which i kept my own

change is what we represent
as we slowly get older
i wish i had the attitude
i really should have told her

change is what we saw last week
hit me like a hammer
i wish i had the magnitude
and better grammar

skidoosh

beautiful things
come at just the right time
the universe sings
so sweet and sublime

the wood for the trees
the sea for the sand
the wind for the breeze
the hurt for the hand...

honesty teaches you reverence
solitude teaches you severance
reality teaches you consequence
the effect this has had on my confidence


beautiful things
come at just the right time
and it's time

i get the balance

you say one thing and do another
gain something and lose another
let one go and choose another
bruise one side and hurt the other

you laugh at one and laud another
trust in one and stab another
rip the arms off one another
sling opinions at each other

i heard it all from a to z
but i only got as far as x
because i didn't understand the y
or what for

round two... FIGHT!

dumm tck-dm dm.. dm dumm
bmm tck-bm dm.. du shakashaka bd..d..d..d..
dumm tck-tck-tck-tck.. dm dumm
bmm tck-bm dm.. dm tika-tika-tika, bdmwe-yo... o

sha-sha-shikki-shikki
dmmm, bdumm be haa-aaa
shikki (boom boom boom boom boom)

tsk-k-tsk-k-tsk-k-tsk
tsk-a-tsk-a-tsk
tsk-aaa, bdumm dnene
bdumn dum dum.. bdamn
(bduh, bduh, bduh)
bdum dumm... tsi-a-tsi-a-tsi-a-ka
btsi-a-tsi-a-tsi.. tshhhup
(bduh, bduh, bduh)
bdum dummm wiki-wiki-wiki boom tcka-tchka-tchka...
btsi-a-tsi-a-tsi.. tshhhhh
(bduh, bduh, bduh, bduh)

boom bah bang chk chkachka ting
tsk-tsk... bdubudu-dubudu
boom... tik-tik chkachka ting
chkachka, chkachka...
chka ting

i'm just going to say it
exactly like it is:





i think
i've fallen
for you.

such a pity, really
we had such a good weekend
but then you snapped

so silly actually
we were off to see a friend
but then you snapped

he's just got out of icu
and you cooked him up something better than
that hospital food
delicious hospital food
and then you snapped

he was in icu because we put him there
heart attack, maybe, something went wrong
we were on our way
and then you snapped

like that thing in his brain
that made his his heart beat at 202 bpm
that they could only fix by stopping his heart
and then he snapped

so i turned around
i almost walked home
don't know where my keys are
and then i snapped

and all this time
you haven't said a word
except 'there's food for you at home'
and then i snapped

and thought 'let's try this again'
but you still didn't speak
instead you sulked
and so i snapped

you haven't said a word
since we got home, so maybe i should try some of
that hospital food
delicious hospital food
and now i've snapped

but there's something else isn't there?
if there's nothing to say then there's something to hide.
is there something else hidden in there?
sometimes the hubris sneaks out of the pride.
surely.
really?

such a pity.

i say some things
and you say some things
quite often they're all about love

and when they collide
well that gives us resaon
the reader that sees them
gets off on the ride

i came from there
and you came from there
but there is a moment in spacetime

they're not the same thing
and you've got somebody
and i've got somebody
and that's what we bring

i found you
and you found me
we totally found each other
scratch my back
and i'll scratch yours
we'll scratch each other together

i don't want
to leave you alone
for somebody else to discover
i love you
and i really hope
i'll be scratching your back forever

not afraid to choose
between wrong or right
not afraid to lose
not my fight
broken like a fuse
that's alright
they're not my shoes
they were chosen for me

speak or die, it said
so i thought i'd stage a silent protest
in the end, i might have won
i dunno

breathe or sigh, she said
it doesn't matter anyway
in the end, i could have won
i dunno

so i hang off every word
break them in half if i have to
in the end, i think it worked
i dunno

you can hurt me if you like
turn me all inside out
in the end, what end ******
i dunno
i just dunno

what i've taken for granted
i'll never regret
but the damage i've caused
i'll never forget

oh please make it stop

if you say you're leaving, leave
if you say you're staying, there are rules
if you say you're going, go
if you say you're not going anywhere, then okay

just stop being ****
and stop with the guilt trips
and stop with those lips
and stop with the blaming
and stop the complaining
and stop making me want you
just stop it

i miss you way too much
for you to still be here
so if you're going to stay
please behave

i know some things that you don't
and you have some things of mine
i don't know if you remember
where we had even drawn the line

to be fair
to be sure
where do you want to be
because i'm here
and i'm sure
you want to be with me

but your terms are bent
can't even pay the rent
so i'll let you
destroy me
to be sure
to be fair

so right now i'm drawing a line
from now to next september
i'll hang on to what is left of mine
and know there are things that i won't

let go of... oh forget about it, anyway
it seems like it was yesterday
that you saw what i could hide
so you took me for a ride
and i, like a surfer to a sand dune
said okay

suddenly it appears
in my peripheral periphery
i look like a rabbit
that's just had an epiphany
and stopped and thought, wait!
i could do so much better
i'm right here with you
i should never have let her
say such shackulous things
that flitter and flatter
and cast so much doubt
oh! i wanted to tell her
to not make a shout
he's such a nice fella
he runs and he rides
with the seas and the tides
and takes her to places
he's hidden inside
and inside those places
a crowning awaits
that criminally crawlingly
counterfeit space!

years later, when i think
that i've gathered my garb
and drenched the poor dude
in what most think is arb
and try to reclaim
what i thought i had lost
i didn't consider
what could it have cost?
it couldn't be much
i'm not worth alot
i'm not that much more
than you'd find in the lot
and daringly, raring with
all of my pride
i suddenly showed
what i'd hidden inside

and all in an instant
it all disappeared
those things that i wanted
and totally feared
were vanished along
with my prickly beard
begone! it said with
with a huffulous gruff
you won't find us here
we just don't give a fluff!
we don't want your type
or your arty-farty ways
there's nobody here who
invited you anyways
but that was a while ago
and if your intent
was to drive me away
then i shouldn't have sent
my lawyer to see you
yeah, he knows what's best
what's best for the rest
should be put to the test!

but time has moved on
and i'll never remember
what you had in mind
that fateful september
when you stole my heart
with a bit of panache
and a twist of the wrist
and a crudulous crash
and made me see clearly
how foolish i'd been
to not see the wood
nor the trees inbetween
for this i am grateful
it could have been worse
it could have been me
in the back of the hearse
but the thing that you are
and the kindness you show
takes nothing from those
that are wanting to grow
and that is why you
amongst all of the many
are worth diamonds and gold
and don't cost a penny

it's not like i planned this
way back in atlantis
though this is what history preferred

it's not like i wanted
to be taken for granted
it's just what the mystery inferred

it's not circumstantial
or in any way minuscule
it's not like i caught myself out

but if i could be truthful
if just for this mouthful
when you're ready, just give me a shout

if you need a bit more, i'll be here
if you need me to go, i'll be way over there
if you need me to love you
i'm gonna think twice
and i'll listen to reason
no matter the price

but if you keep on pretending
like nothing needs mending
i'll help you swallow that pill

if you want me to be
then let me be free
sure, it'll be superficial

but right now i've got nothing to hide
so you can take someone else for a ride

for once, let me bleed
through the silence and the need
see what i've done wrong
and i concede

i knew you knew it all along
that i'm not supposed to be that strong
but i think i have a seed
and you're wrong

the state of the state
it's a bit of a state
it lies, and it hates
it takes and it takes

gauteng freedom fighters
gauteng freedom fighters
gauteng freedom fighters
boom boom boom boom

julius...
julius...
juliaas...
on point!

gauteng freedom fighters
gauteng freedom fighters
gauteng freedom fighters
boom boom boom boom

it'll all make sense
in present tense
a ***** is a *****
that got the grade

gauteng freedom fighters
gauteng freedom fighters
freedom fighters wena
boom boom boom boom

julius...
julius...
juliaaas...
ubaba ka duduzane!

change is not the problem
the problem is the change
we've drawn a solid line between
the sacred and the strange

i don't mind if you connect
with something in your mind
we always build a bridge between
the things we leave behind

time is not a currency
yet current is the time
the things we rescue in-between
the stark and the sublime

change is not the problem
the problem needs to change
we need to build those bridges in-between
what we arrange

and, dig this:
nothing is so secret that requires it to hurt
nothing is so sacred that remands it to the dirt
nothing is so tired, so miniscule, so intricate
strange problem indeed

i'm not immune to this
sea of hedonistic heresy
i just know how to swim

shame sentimentally suffices some sacrament: strange secondary seekers safely scout such suffrage so suddenly, shake spurious susceptibility southward so strangers seem superficial; supposing such simple servants survive such sycophantic schools sans shouting, scraping, sifting, straightforward striking; some surmise something sustains, something stinks. see? sure. self-sustainable, sick, staggeringly stupid ****.

subtle ****, slip sliding southward, stopping such sudden shudderance.

safe, she says?

soon such seas seem superfluous so... success: scream success! shake secondary security, say secrets, sratch surfaces, scrape sentimental sand so shapes shift sooner; similarly scrub seemingly subtle scars, seven seconds, second severance, something so subliminally separate simplifies shifting solace, sacrificing so solemly saturday's superficial stars.

such sweet serendipity.

it's me
i miisss yookuouoso muruch i dontnowottodoabouutitit
iim acaar fulll of ******, a shipp ffull of sssailas
a ccsamp fullof boyscouutss

it's you
twiddledy-twiddly-twiddle the kknob
pussshing thhe buutons, fiftyytwo, fourtythree, tennn-hup
a maggneticpo leto my compasss

it's us
qmdkksjdjjaiekmkrrrrfkfk, nsdjndf
kkksksiashiuyiddrirttranoth erone, go on, doit
do it aagin, ynotit works dunnitit

it's ours
and from over here it loooks likke
we'll never get tto do it evva again, unnless
itl earns anoth erlanguage
thhatw ebothu ndusttaaaand

if i were a voltage
and you had a current
would you still try and resist it?

(is another way of saying)

if i had potential
and you a capacitor
would you still try and charge it?

(which means to say)

if i carried weight
and you a bit scarred
would you still try and keep it?

(or in other words)

if i were a beacon
and you were a map
would you still need to enlarge it?

there's beauty here in getting lost
we feel the warmth beneath the frost.

an excellent soliloquy
reminds us what it used to be
the blue behind the sky suggests
the time beneath the hue

with perfect synchronicity
another lost epiphany
what's left stays in-between
the crime, but for the few

so let it go free
let it bleed superficially
the blue behind the sky begets
the eyes beneath the glue

this wasn't meant to be unkind
i didn't know what else to find

in at least 50 words, what is a database?

i guess a repository of information
that's indexed and accessible
easily sortable, amendable and movable
supports atomicity, durability and something else that starts with an i
and has lots of data
lots of data
some more data
and then a bit more data
and even more data
loads of it

there. why do we make things so complicated?

with all this mist it's hard to see
the devil creeping up on me
it's worth it, let it go

and everytime i recognise
the pain you keep beneath those eyes
you saw it, let it go

piece by piece we'll build it up
and paint it with a shade of luck
you made it, now it's so

it doesn't hurt because you're here
or that you make it disappear
it hurts, now it's so

i should've tried to tag along
if nothing else i'll still belong
to this, let it go
there's nothing left to show
i did, now it's so
and i'll never let it go

you spin me right round baby right round
like a record baby right round round round
you spin me right round baby right rchk
pin me right round baby right rchk
pin me right round baby right rchk
pin me right round baby right rchk
pin me right round baby right rchk
pin me right round baby right rchk

yes i didn't mean it
yes i didn't mind
yes you get to keep it
yes, it was a find

yes i want the best for us
yes i think we're there
yes i am leviticus
yes, i'm going to dare

nothing seems so far away
nothing is what i feel
nothing bleeds and starts to fray
nothing, it will heal

yes i think i need some sleep
yes you beat me to it
yes i'm feeling pretty cheap
yes, you got me through it

nothing stabs a price to that
nothing i'll accept
nothing trades in *** for tat
nothing, except

yes

flinched and scared are words, it seems
   that separates light from bright
   that separates real from feel
   that separates dark from stark
   that separates lame from shame

pinched and dared are words, it seems
   that separates make from break
   that separates lose from choose
   that separates fast from last
   that separates rage from age

clinched and flared are words, it seems
   they're worlds apart
   where do i start
   i clinch, you're scared
   i flinch, you're scared
   i pinch, you're scared

yet all this time i was scared
  and it showed

i woke the same
as i did yesterday
i saw the flame
and tried to pray

all for one, you said
not for some, you said
black hole sun, you said
it didn't come

the day i tried to live
i kept my head down
alive
in the superunknown

but you fell on
black days

so i'll drink to health
while you **** yourself

like suicide

whether you were feeling the breeze
or hearing me breathe
you were right there

whether i was around the corner
or had hastened to warn her
you were right there, waiting

you had only one eye, and i have to admit
that i never really knew what you could see
and i guess it's goodbye, but i have to submit
to the indelible effect that you had on me

i'll miss the way you got scared of the cold
i'll miss how you made rhyley do what he's told
i'll miss the way we snuggled up under the fold
i'll miss you forever, my duke.

i totally get it now
to succeed you've got to be liked
to be liked you've got to be seen
to be seen you've got to do good, plant a seed, like a **** it'll grow like a wild virus

but up there in my head
i can't figure out
what it means
to succeed
to begin with
(figure that one out)
and then you'll be seen
and then you'll be liked
and then you would have already succeeded

are there certain things you have knowledge of but not felt?

when people need things they'll lie.
they'll tell you they need it.
they'll tell you you did things
you never conceded.

those people stand apart.
that's what they choose.
they treat you as if
you've got nothing to lose.

but i'm not alone
though it certainly seems it.
i don't have a tongue
or a very sharp wit.

yet sometimes applause
cascades over me.
like a scene from my life
that has no memory.

i get as close as i can
because i wanna get picked.
i feel like a grateful
insatiable addict.

as hard as i try
i'll never remember
what i was accused of
that epic december.

the cat in the hat
said you owe me a debt.
i'll probably forgive
but i'll never forget.

but that didn't work.
my life's not in tatters.
i'm alive and can love
and that's all that matters.

i hope that helped.

if i was that way inclined
if i was addicted to chocolate
it wouldn't seem strange
if i went out and bought it
there's no infidelity
even though i sought it

it doesn't have feelings
i guess that's the point
there isn't a mars bar
i'd go out and anoint
or a particular favourite
i'd rather appoint

but it's easy to choose
a muse that's consistent
that makes you get high
that makes me persistent
goes out to assure me
it's never too distant

when i say that i love you
and i'm deeply committed
and then comment on something
that someone else tweeted
don't judge me for something
i haven't admitted

if it wants to be secret
it's already lied
yet love is a language
you don't need to hide
like the milk in the fridge
that already died

not looking for reason
to go and betray you
i don't have a need
to turn us into issue
quite simply, what i know
i'm committed to you

as arrogant as it seems
and i'm pretty **** sure
that of everyone on earth
that shares my tenure
the trust i distill
is always this pure

and despite the fact
that i might get excited
or another recipient
tells you that she liked it
this is all that i have
and right now you're invited

ground beef
nice dream
eat ****

keep it to yourself
whatever your intention is
it shows

i dare you to prove me wrong.

be kind, always.

when i put my trust in anything
be it your claims of innocence
or her claims of dissonance
all i ask is
whether it was worth it?

if i happen to be wrong
be it my stupid intelligence
or her perfunctory ignorance
all i ask is
was it worth it?

if my back is squarely up against the wall
and nothing makes any sense
besides the obvious pretense
all i ask is
what is it worth?

whatever you think it is
we can fix it in increments
like the poodle hole in the fence
all i ask is
do you think it's worth it?

i do, but
i wonder
wonder i do

I GET THE FUSS

i do
i totally do
i hear talk of 'do what you want but hurt no-one'
by hurt they mean harm, i'm sure
but what's the difference

that war
that vicious war
that thing that says 'war is an attack on our existence'
by existence they mean acceptance, for sure
but what's the difference

my place
my impenetrable place
my need to 'not implicate anyone'
by implicate they mean inconvenience, i'm sure
but what's the difference

there's a dark line
between hurt and inconvenience
isn't there
it just isn't there