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.

CROCODILES

Crocodiles are sidling
through green stumpy
streets dragging mannequins
down banks of monetary
slime dipping delectable
lipstuck smiles in the
swarming murk of bargain-
priced shadows. Crocodiles
are bristling stiff waxy
tails in front of auspicious
building ducking under ladies’
mudwash garments snuffling
thighs high up coughing up
bedraggled sex-bitten young
missus’ Crocodiles are removing
hunks of stone from leading
fashion houses swallowing
models regaled in red cardigans
with the unmistakeable clotted
look dragging pop-art lovelies
down into fishgrey sewers.

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