there’s a new breed
of vintage-wearing brown girls
they started off by straightening their hair
and speaking English
had Foschini accounts
and rode only first class
the type that had boyfriends
when they were still just burks
that got offended
if I scanned something wrong at the till by Clicks
the type that kept that light skin gene
in the family
they were the prettiest girl
in the township
the type that’s pretty to coloured people
the type that believed an au pair in Europe
is a title
and married some unattractive old white guy
’cause ambition has a bank account
that’s gotta stay full
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Ronelda Kamfer’s debut collection, Noudat slapende honed (Kwela, 2008), received the Eugene Marais award, which she followed up with Grond/santekraam (Kwela, 2011), winner of the 2012 ABSA Kanna award. Her third collection, Hammie (2016), received the ATKV WoordTrofee award. All three collections have been translated and published in Dutch, and an Italian translation of Grond/santekraam will appear in 2018. She is an MA candidate at Rhodes University, and is married to cartoonist and poet Nathan Trantraal, with whom she has a six-year-old daughter named Seymour.
