Roy Joseph Cotton – September 11, '53 – March 10, '85

Roy commenced writing poetry during his latter school years. He read prolifically and was passionate about music and was a devote to Bob Dylan. He wrote many plays or "Musical Paintings" as he called them, and was also busy with two works "Multimythicum" and "Girlpools, Whirpools, and other gusts of Twirling Hair". He wrote from the security of a warm, close family in a comfortable Cape Town (South Africa) suburb. Yet most of his huge output of poems reflect a consuming angst. It was an angst which drove him to search for peace throughout books, music, writing, and religion, and it led to ultimate despair. His highly idiosyncratic way with language and the intense pressure of his emotional and spiritual concerns make his poetry compelling and disturbing reading. His untimely death at age of 31 cut short his promising career as a poet.

AT PEACE

i
The blue light
enters my chamber
not unlike a
celestial summer

ii
My chamber is filled
with ghosts who once
roared like oceanlions,
but are quiet now

iii
The exquisite glow
of morning makes the
dappled pavement
feel like a prince

iv
The flags are singing
with a vengeance
The doves liken the
music to the tiny
heartbeats of their young.