White Man Crawling

Grey Louries

83 Grey Louries They look hand-made, each one slightly different; misshapen as free verse; collector’s items, perhaps. They fly like paper aeroplanes. Their raucous call is how I imagine pterodactyls may have sounded millions of years ago. Go away yourself! Shoo! Stop gorging on the candid blossoms of my apricot tree. Go-away! Go-way! Gway! Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Proverbs 13.12 John Eppel was born in Lydenburg, South Africa, but moved to Colleen Bawn in Zimbabwe at the age of four. He now lives in Bulawayo, where he teaches English. He was awarded the Ingrid Jonker Prize for his first poetry book, Spoils of War, and the M-Net Prize for his first novel, D G G Berry’s The Great North Road. Spoils of War, Carrefour (1989) D G G Berry’s The Great North Road, Carrefour/Hippogriff (1989) Hatchings, Carrefour (1993) The Giraffe Man, Quellerie (1994) Sonata for Matabeleland, Snailpress/Baobab Books (1995) Selected Poems 1965-1995, Childline (2001) The Curse of the Ripe Tomato, ’amaBooks (2001) The Holy Innocents, ’amaBooks (2002) The Caruso of Colleen Bawn and Other Short Writings, ’amaBooks (2004) Songs My Country Taught Me, Weaver Press (2005) Hatchings, ’amaBooks (2006) ...