Drink gin(ger) and call me at noon by Nkateko Masinga

this is not a spoiler of the ending,
but the apocalypse is in autumn –
i saw an angel’s notebook once
and told no-one, save you, now

& it’s not because of the alcohol.
it’s not a crime when you’re 27
with a guest pass to that club
where only the bouncer is alive

(don’t let me in, i’m not ready)

pencil it into this year’s journal
as an alternative future event
to (not) prepare for. build arks
as art projects. let the water

save you/drown your sorrows

drink gin and call me at noon
when you wake up (if you do)

if not, i’m sorry. i meant ginger
and i hope the end didn’t burn

Nkateko Masinga is a South African poet and 2019 Fellow of the Ebedi International Writers Residency. She was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2018 and her work has received support from Pro Helvetia Johannesburg and the Swiss Arts Council. She is the Contributing Interviewer for Poetry at Africa In Dialogue, an online interview magazine that archives creative and critical insights with Africa’s leading storytellers. Her chapbook, THE HEART IS A CAGED ANIMAL, is forthcoming from Praxis Magazine Online.