A few months ago I attended the 2021 WordCrafter New Beginnings Virtual Writing Conference. One of the sessions I participated in was a Poetry Panel session with some wonderful poets.
Erin Robertson asked me about South African poets and while I do read some South African poetry, I am not very good at remembering the names of the poets. I felt rather embarrassed that I wasn’t able to remember any names and felt I’d missed an opportunity to showcase some of South Africa’s talent.
I reflected on this conversation and decided that I would share a few South African poets and their poems on my blog.
The first poem I am sharing is The Marble Eye by Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali. A short, but powerful, poem.
The Marble Eye
The marble eye
is an ornament
coldly carved by a craftsman
to fill an empty socket
as a corpse fills a coffin.
It sheds no tear,
it warms to no love,
it glowers with no anger,
it burns with no hate.
Blind it is to all colours.
Around it there is no evil
to be whisked away
with the tail of a horse
like a pestering fly.
Oh! the marble eye –
if only my eyes
were made of marble!
The extended metaphor used by the poet to portray his desire for “a marble eye” to help him escape the harsh reality of his life has stayed with me ever since I first read this poem.
The poet is caught in a world of pain, anger, prejudice, and hatred from which he is unable to escape, even though he wishes to “whisk” away the evil he sees around him.
The final stanza and the exclamation Oh! emphasis the fact that the poet is unable to escape as he does not have a marble eye but rather real eyes that see everything all to clearly.
You can listen to my short recording of this poem here:
About Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali
Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali was born in Kwabhanya (Vryheid), KwaZulu-Natal in 1940. After completing secondary school in he went to Soweto hoping to study social work. Apartheid legislation prevented his enrolment but he studied via correspondence, obtaining a diploma with Premier School of Journalism and Authorship, affiliated to London University. He worked as a messenger in Johannesburg, drawing on his observations of the city to write the poems that became his first collection, Sounds of a Cowhide Drum. Published by Lionel Abrahams of Renoster in 1971, with a foreword written by Nadine Gordimer, this book went on to become the best-selling poetry book in South African history.
Read more about Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali here: Oswald Mbuyiseni Mtshali | South African History Online (sahistory.org.za)
roberta-writes.com 
Yes, a powerful poem. Thanks for sharing Mtshali’s poetry.
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My pleasure, Priscilla, I am glad you enjoyed the poem.
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That’s an interesting poem Robbie 💜
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Wow! Loved that, Robbie. Mbuyiseni is clearly a talented poet.
Wonderful share!
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Hi Mae, I am delighted to know you enjoyed it.
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Good twist at the end, Mbuyiseni!
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I’m glad you enjoyed this poem, Jacqui.
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A poignant and powerful poem. Thanks for sharing it. He is a talented man, indeed.
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Hi Darlene, I am glad you appreciated this poem.
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What a powerful poem, very talented poet.
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Thank you, Carla. This is a powerful poem.
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It sure is. I looked to see if I could buy the book, but because it seems to be out of print, it is quite pricey.
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Oh, that is a pity. I will see if I can find some more of his poetry and publish it in my blog.
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That would be great, Robbie.
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What a powerful and evocative poem!
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Thank you, Kim. This one did strike a chord with me.
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Nice, I need to find more.
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Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali has a book of poetry. I am glad you enjoyed this post.
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I have ordered the book. Coming from a bookshop in the UK. I’m excited – thanks.
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What a lovely idea to showcase your countrymens craft and educate us … this sure is powerful Robbie! Thanks for sharing
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Hi Kate, thank you, I am glad you enjoyed this post. South African writers and poets tend to struggle to get international recognition. I am glad I can bring their work to a few people around the world.
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kudos to you Robbie, great job done, I look forward to more!
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A stirring piece. Makes tremendously poignant sense.
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I am glad you appreciated this poem, Annette. It strikes a chord with me too.
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Wow! What a powerful poem. I don’t have enough superlatives for it.
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Hi Liz, I am pleased you like this poem. The concept really wormed into my mind.
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Sad and powerful…Oswald’s story is encouraging in many ways it portrays that he led his life his way and achieved his dreams against the odds…my heart tells me he shouldn’t have had to…x
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Hi Carol, thank you for visiting and adding your thoughts. This poem is very poignant.
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Nicely read, Robbie, and what a wonderful poem. I’m ashamed to say I know very few of our poets, Mbuyiseni included.
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I’m going to share a few South African poems over the next few weeks as a lot of people don’t know the poetry of this country. I am glad you enjoyed this poem.
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I shall look forward to that, Robbie. 🙂
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I’d like to escape my feelings sometimes, as well. Great poem, Robbie!
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Thank you, Jacquie. Life can get on top of us sometimes. I hope your daughter will get good news after her tests.
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Thank you ((hugs))
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A wonderful selection Robbie. Thank you for introducing me to this poet. I hope you will highlight more. (K)
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Hi Kerfe, I’m pleased you enjoyed this poem. I do plan to share a few more.
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Hi Robbie, that is a marvelous poem that tugged at my heart, and you showcased it so well. I understand how you felt, though. I had that happen during a job interview once when one of the questions was, what are your favorite books and what have you been reading recently. I couldn’t tell them a thing. After that I started keeping a list in my journal of all the books I read.
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Hi Marsha, I’m delighted you enjoyed this poem. There is a lot of talent in South Africa. Books and poems by SA writers are not always easy to find. I have a collection of vintage books I have acquired over the years. I know review all the books I read on Goodreads and that is my list. It really is handy.
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That is handy. I wish it had been there a million years ago when I was starting my career. I don’t do too much on good reads. I was reviewing a lot on my blog, but they took me so much time for very little readership, I mostly review on Amazon when I review.
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It is a soul-searching poem by Mbuyiseni Oswald Mtshali, Robbie. I admired his determination to get an education and went on to publish a poetry book that became the best seller.
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Hi Miriam, yes, his story is a great one and I enjoyed this poem very much.
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A raw and deep poem, it touched my heart.
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