Ghairo Daniels Poet Other

rubble waved smile-less

Streets were cobbled and colourful 
coons, priests, tailors revelled together 
Easter and Eid celebrated by all
curry with dagga making sprawls

mixed stewpot of cultures, creeds, speeds 
  happily we played  five  s t o n e s  between       h e a t h 
phantoms wearing no veils guiding our feet
authencity was reality, all rowdy neatly lived vibrancy in every fold holding 
       puddings blueberry sweet 

Not to last
body-minds just 
too raucous, honest 
raw
sawing sculptures 
daring air ~ 

this district’s a b-l-a-s-t 
too blue true was its sky, too placid cool its 
 harbour with dock stewards parlours 
 talents too excellent exuberant wild 
for offspring of colonialists not mild 

white was their skin whilst ours 
a full range from creamy yogurt 
       to hot black sheen
 
  separation was name of their game

My childhood blood steaming  r e d  for 
liver, kidneys rambling rose blooming 
mocha tone chiffon covering bone 
with muscle   __petite body imbibed 

grandma’s grimaces, absorbing dadda’s
stoic smoke, momma’s pillows damp as…

Declarations of blotched ink spilled 
                                                o
                                                 UT
               
                   of hand delivered beige envelopes 
 an Act now law booked
 so crooked was their cores wanting our galores 

No White alongside Indian sleeping
with San-Khoi eating Malay breyani 
worshipping with Jew, being gay brew
no more ok was this  f. a. i.  r.  y. Land 
of colourful daisies ~  into grey lands
hazy on lorries 
we trekked slow 

modern day Israelites no mecca to find
dandelions, rubble waved smile-less 
behind — spleen imbibing swirling 
crockery dust, lungs absorbed 
bulldozer rust ___serpent in spine coiled up

Into cells of my young teen body
disappeared memories of rivers down
faces, fashionable graces innate with 
oupa cigars on street pavements late 

embedded as autoimmune dis_
order encodings - mitochondrial chaos from chaos 
elfin body holding cringes, lame shame
    who am I my legs rambled young adult 

An autumn a child-bearing body from 
   mocha to snow white 
   loamy cheeks to tell 
   I was once a coloured kid - 
vitiligo named a potch mocked traveller 
sore, who knitted quilts under a fig 
tree of peace, disenchanted immune 
cells telling stories of pains, aches 
with glories __

my friend remarked : maybe you always wanted
           to be white (...)
________________

[GOLD PLACEMENT WINNER : 
Allpoetry Contest April 26 ]

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Paige Hind April 23, 2026 at 9:58 PM This is amazing and worthy of the placement, Ghairo. WOW. <3 Congrats, hun

Ghairo Daniels April 23, 2026 at 1:34 PM [Poet’s Note : Prompt for Poem : The Body Keeps : poem in which the body carries memory : Poet Ocean Vuong was the inspiration. PS. Vitiligo is an autoimmune dis-ease related to a congested liver, which deletes the body’s pigment, resulting in a snow-white skin. It is nowadays understood that the liver is the organ that holds & attempts to metabolise repressed anger/rage. I am of the perception that contracting this ailment is a consequence of Apartheid and its Forced Removal process which I lived through as child, teen & young adult. ]