The N1 South - a Joburg Cape Town poem

The N1 South - a Joburg Cape Town poem

May 13, 2024

the tar is sticky hot and the air stinks

at the roadside pull off

sharp black rocks and strings of flecked toilet paper

condoms and KFC

beneath pretty white concrete benches

wafting plastic on the run


trucks thunder the infinite loop

railway tracks wait in hope

dreaming of the years

when little towns served people


some drivers sleep

gather broken speedy breath

curtains flap over tight windows


but mostly

we’re moving


sometimes there are cars

families with maps, and caravans

also municipal managers

roadside crews

orange uniforms

red flag wavers

diggers and drivers and stop / go operators

leaning into heat

kids in rags under trees

poke sticks down stubby holes

while the guy who’s always walking

walks and clusters of family artists

hock silver tin windmills

on the rocks of fast food islands


it’s close to evening and the heat is gaining

the wind’s so fast it’s singing


girls wait under bright green willow trees

drivers stop, there is food and rest and fucking - and something like laughter


nothing is ok

everyone is living


we’ll be in the winelands soon


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