Poems Rethabile Likes

The Sign of Saturn by Sharon Olds The Sign of Saturn by Sharon Olds Sometimes my daughter looks at me with an amber black look, like my father about to pass out from disgust, and I remember she was born under the sign of Saturn, the father who ate his children. Sometimes the dark, silent back of her head reminds me of him unconscious on the couch every night, his face turned away. Sometimes I hear her talking to her brother with that coldness that passed for reason in him, that anger hardened by will, and when she rages into her room, and slams the door, I can see his vast blank back when he passed out to get away from us and lay while the bourbon turned, in his brain, to coal. Sometimes I see that coal ignite in her eyes. As I talk to her, trying to persu...

Beauty by Warsan Shire Beauty by Warsan Shire My older sister soaps between her legs, her hair a prayer of curls. When she was my age, she stole the neighbour's husband, burnt his name into her skin. For weeks she smelt of cheap perfume and dying flesh. It's 4 a.m. and she winks at me, bending over the sink, her small breasts bruised from sucking. She smiles, pops her gum before saying boys are haram, don't ever forget that. Some nights I hear her in her room screaming. We play Surah Al-Baqarah to drown her out. Anything that leaves her mouth sounds like sex. ...

Guidelines Welcome to Poems Rethabile Likes , the personal blog of Rethabile Masilo — a writer, reader, and lifelong lover of poetry. The purpose of this blog is to share poems that I admire and love. These may include poems I've written myself, or poems by others that speak to me in some meaningful way. When possible, I ask for permission before sharing someone else's work. But there are times, due to circumstances or unavailability, when that isn’t possible. If you are the poet or rights holder of a piece featured here and would prefer it not to appear, I completely respect your wishes. Please don’t hesitate to send me a message at: , and I will respond as soon as possible. I consider this blog a kind of shop window . If something catches your eye, I encourage you to step inside — that is, to explore the poet further. I always try to include links to where you can find their books or visit their personal websites. This blog will remain entirely ad-free . It i...

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