Poem: the influence of Whitney Houston

The late Whitney Houston, who died on 11 February 2012, has gone down in the record books as the most-awarded female artist of all time. This poem refers to her incredible talent and highlights her role in popular culture. It further alludes to the impact of popular culture in under-resourced communities, inner cities and popular neighbourhoods. Voice is taken from my book Connexions, released in 2012.

Voice

voice sinewy, voice bird-skin tough

voice that journeys
& turns
& pirouettes
on boardwalks

in the lane, between the flats

in the location
or in the flattest Cape
present, in the thirteen-year-old
that sings herself beyond her limits
beyond uneven fences
beyond the wasteland

whitney, roaming the land

one foot in a hotel bath
another on a stage
a smile, breaking through the make-up
another day
dawns
best-friend real

voice elongates

flexes
as it wanders
the cosmos fields
down lanes
over streams
between the homesteads
voice that burns the fields, orange flames

in the gorges

between high buildings
at the all-night shop
at the troyeville garage
by the alex hairdresser

& the internet shop with its old computers

beyond the bars
beyond the soullessness

in nights of elegance

voice canters on, covers ground
rises

whirls & wheels

dips back
to caress
the grubby streets

Frank Meintjies