windowless day,
particles of strange salt on his brow,
generator man
on the coil,
double-sided,
a love for radioactive honey:
a storm in a teacup...

but for some reason
could not reciprocate
due to the metallic taste in his mouth,
and so he seemed driven
to build his electrical dream,
and took comfort from his pigeons,
the “lightning machine,”
the hair on his head bristled
as he discovered his purpose
in rings of glory that died
as flags of dust...

And opposite,
In the electricity fields,
Sit rows of hollowed-out shells.

Now in-land,
Though out of place,
The Lightning Whelks generate Hell.

And parallel—
Conducting phantasmagorical light—
The pylons coil around them;

Reverberations from the industrial fields
Where the blood lines coagulate and dwell.

And the blood lines—
They feed the hollowed-out shells—
Form conglomerate veins.

And in their hands—
The great fires they weld—
Ever-surging, moth-coaxing light.

Life imitates art... and electronics?

Everything depends on the plus and the minus. The positive and the negative. Including heaven and hell. Don't get it wrong either. Being positive isn't saying "let it go, it will be fine" it is saying "no, it has to be this way"! It is thought to be cruel to tell someone they are doing something wrong. But is it cruel for a cop to harass someone who is cooking burgers outside? I don't really think so, but it is WRONG. You stand in that negativity protected by a union of black wires, Blue wires. I am the positive red wire that they try to call negative. I choose to be the white, neutral wire, but they say ******* is wrong, and make it a race issue. I scream, "*******"! They say no, so I go back to being the red wire. They say that is wrong, but I still choose my own power. So, are you the red or the blue? We depend on each other, even with opposing polarity. You can't be red, white and blue...it is impossible.

(electronics have a red and a black wire for positive and negative. It used to be a red and a blue wire...and a white wire that is represented by an N.)

I have to do some research about home wiring, but I believe the ground wire and the lightning rod would let you pull electricity out of the air, just as Mr Franklin discovered. If this is true, then you are being "charged"(pun intended) for what is free, and when the electric company cuts off your service, you can just disconnect their cables and have what was once called "*******" ...no pun intended. If I die any time soon, check with the electric company haha. We are stuck on stupid.

ESKOM

Where do I start?
Writing this by candle light;
Yet today we are lucky,
Load shedding came early

The system is done,
Its broken, corrupt,
Time after time,
Excuses one after the next

Us we are lucky,
In some ways anyhow;
For we have a few means
To keep warm for now

Others are not,
In fact most are not,
They suffer, they die,
But ESKOM - care they do not

Yes it was once ok,
to be totally without,
But once electricity is introduced,
Its difficult to go without

Those who have the means
Have done what they can,
Generators, gas, solar,
Options are endless, but only if you can

To most the expense is impossible,
Of course we want solar,
We want clean energy,
Just like we collect rain water

Its nothing new,
Its now been decades,
Leaving people to suffer,
ESKOM one problem after another

Winter after winter
Just when its needed most,
ESKOM takes it away,
Light, warmth, taken away

People light fires with paraffin,
Then bring them indoors,
Just to keep warm,
In the morning they dont wake up at all


Where is investment in alternatives?
For ESKOM cannot go on,
As one of my cousins said -
The grid is often more off than on

I cannot complain,
Not for myself anyway;
I choose to live here
I'll do things my own way

But I do see suffering
Knowing a long winter is ahead,
With an overburdened health system,
Knowing every winter leaves people dead

How much longer will it take?
For ESKOM to finally close,
To open doors for others,
Its time to get rid of the coal

In a Country basking in sunshine
nearly every day of the year,
The lack of solar power is saddening,
And shameful, but ESKOM doesnt care

Yes we have fire,
But we also have rain,
Those two dont mix,
Cannot cook on fire in the rain

The saddest things is this,
That ESKOM just dont care;
Lives dont matter to ESKOM,
Anyway - they have their share

The few that can make do,
They can afford to.
So everyone else is forgotten,
Nearly 80 percent of the population

Its cold, its wet,
We cannot light fire,
If we do its outside,
Buildings no longer designed for fire

How much longer ESKOM?
Will you allow people to suffer?
Will you eat all the money?
Will you do this to South Africa??

We all hope for a brighter future; quite literally...."brighter" ..  :)

Nomkhumbulwa **

One day you will turn around and see something that scares you into submission. It will be your polar opposite. All of those bad thoughts that you don't admit, are alive inside of your polar opposite...and they don't hold anything back. The first thought that comes to your mind will not be acted upon...your polar opposite always goes with the first thought. Bad people will see the light, and good people will see what the bad people used to see.