Emasculated I&II

These two poems are by Yoliswa Mogale from Johannesburg, South Africa. The poem was published in So Much to Tell Vol 1 - An Anthology of Poetry by Indigenous Women and the Youth of South Africa. It was published as part of A Women in Writing Community Project in 2003. Castle Lager and Black Label are two of the biggest beer brands in South Africa. A castle is part of the castle lager logo. This is where the wordplay "beer bellied lions in castles labeled black by my mastas" comes from. The poems lament the lost manhood and emasculation of men to the point that are getting their courage to be men, king of their castles, from the bottom of a can of beer.

Emasculated I
Beer bellied
Lions in castles
Labeled Black
By my mastas
Mistress wants her
Bloomers washed whiter
Daily
Non-resistance
Fruit of lions
Bears no inheritance
No land
Non stop payment
Requirement
Proof of non African
Kaffirs
Be obedient
Implement
Western mentality
You'll never be a European
But 'Europeans are Africans'
Owns stolen land
Controls the rand
Token black - you think you're in with the man
You don't understand
You're raping the Mother of all men.

Emasculated II
Hidden behind pants
Clinging to lost manhood
If only we could
Turn back the clock
To when "the man"
Was an African
Have the drum beat again
Not have children die in vain
Land where castle can
'not be the reason why I'm king of my castle!"

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