Otwituaries : Andy Jackson's tweet-length poetic elegies for the departed: Joseph Shabalala

Tuesday, 11 February 2020

Joseph Shabalala - d. February 11th 2020

Ilokishi ineendonga

Umculo awunazindonga

Isixeko sihamba ngaphandle kwesigqi

Umdaniso awupheli

Umhlaba uyacula ngokuvisisanayo

Ilizwi elinye licula ngonaphakade

Read about Joseph Shabalala here

The township has walls

Music has no walls

The city moves without rhythm

The dance never ends

The earth sings without harmony

One voice sings forever

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About the Otwituaries

I started tweeting these poetic obituaries via Twitter on the death of Ernest Borgnine in July 2012. After a while a friend asked if I would gather them together, so I have created this blog as an archive. New Otwituaries will appear here as well as being broadcast via Twitter and Facebook.

All the Otwituaries are written very quickly on the day their subjects pass away, so are clearly lacking in polish or the insight that only comes in time, but they are all from the heart. They represent the people who have, in some way, touched my life - actors, musicians, sporting figures, TV personalities, writers, explorers and assorted others of note.

We live in an age where people are celebrated for the most modest of achievements - news and media ensure that seemingly everyone gets their five minutes of fame if they stick around long enough. It may therefore seem a little morbid or even self-serving on my part to write about the recently-deceased (few if any of whom I have actually met), but these people already enjoy some degree of immortality through their celebrity, and therefore don't need a poem from me. I hope you enjoy reading these short poetic sketches all the same, in the spirit they are intended.