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Point of view | Simon van Schalkwyk
17 days ago
It would be easy to assume that every poem is written from a single point of view, aiming to deliver a single message as simply and directly as possible.
But sometimes poets find it more rewarding to shift their perspective, slowly or suddenly, halfway into a poem, showing up our expectations and forcing us to examine our cherished assumptions and beliefs.
Simon van Schalkwyk is a poet and academic whose second collection, Zero Summer (Dryad Press, 2026), challenges and delights in equal measure. This month, he shared with The AVBOB Poetry Project ‘Nature Is Healing’, a poem from the collection that consciously subverts the reader’s expectations.
Read the poem he has shared and discover how exciting it can be when a poem’s point of view shifts to reveal a startling new angle.
The poem’s title is deliciously ambiguous. Many readers will assume that this will be a poem in which nature heals and consoles the human heart. But as we will see, the poem has other intentions.
It begins with an account of human beings challenged by financial hardship, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The “entrepreneurial spirit” of these people cannot protect them against the scarcity of money and other resources. We might expect to learn more about them, but this does not happen. Instead, the point of view shifts, zooming in on the shopfronts and boarded-up windows in spaces where human beings used to trade and compete.
Then, within a few short lines, we are presented with an image of hyrax taking over these formerly human spaces. The poem’s biggest surprise comes in a line in brackets, as if it was included at the last moment: “(nature is healing).” With a shock, we realise that the nature being described here does not heal or console human beings at all. On the contrary, it is healing itself, for its own sake. And it can only do this because of the absence of the humans who would normally threaten it. From this point onwards, the poem’s focus is entirely on the hyrax who now roam freely in spaces human beings have abandoned.
Does this mean that the world presented here is a happy, idyllic place now that humans no longer threaten the natural world? Well, not exactly. The poem ends in ambiguity, with a final glimpse of hyrax, “loitering on empty corners”, behaving raucously, “getting into knife-fights and trouble.” In other words, creatures other than humans also fight over the same territory. Resources are still limited. Even so, the natural world is healing, simply because human beings are suddenly absent from the scene. Van Schalkwyk has forced us to examine our assumption that human beings and their concerns are at the centre of any action.
In the next few days, write a poem in which you unexpectedly change perspective. You could either write it in different sections, each from a different angle, or change your point of view gradually. Aim at creating something that will be surprising in some way.
The annual AVBOB Poetry Competition is open for submissions until 30 November 2026. Visit www.avbobpoetry.co.za today and familiarise yourself with the competition rules.
But sometimes poets find it more rewarding to shift their perspective, slowly or suddenly, halfway into a poem, showing up our expectations and forcing us to examine our cherished assumptions and beliefs.
Simon van Schalkwyk is a poet and academic whose second collection, Zero Summer (Dryad Press, 2026), challenges and delights in equal measure. This month, he shared with The AVBOB Poetry Project ‘Nature Is Healing’, a poem from the collection that consciously subverts the reader’s expectations.
Read the poem he has shared and discover how exciting it can be when a poem’s point of view shifts to reveal a startling new angle.
It happened anyway – ruin.
No matter how hard they worked,
despite their entrepreneurial spirit,
there was never enough money.
Shops were boarded up monthly,
then twice monthly, then weekly.
Then the virus happened. Game over.
Now the shops are just boards
hammered and nailed over windows
(or what used to be windows)
the streets overrun by hyrax
(nature is healing).
Colonies of hyrax
loitering on empty corners
yelling Stella, singing Maria,
getting into knife-fights and trouble.
No matter how hard they worked,
despite their entrepreneurial spirit,
there was never enough money.
Shops were boarded up monthly,
then twice monthly, then weekly.
Then the virus happened. Game over.
Now the shops are just boards
hammered and nailed over windows
(or what used to be windows)
the streets overrun by hyrax
(nature is healing).
Colonies of hyrax
loitering on empty corners
yelling Stella, singing Maria,
getting into knife-fights and trouble.
The poem’s title is deliciously ambiguous. Many readers will assume that this will be a poem in which nature heals and consoles the human heart. But as we will see, the poem has other intentions.
It begins with an account of human beings challenged by financial hardship, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The “entrepreneurial spirit” of these people cannot protect them against the scarcity of money and other resources. We might expect to learn more about them, but this does not happen. Instead, the point of view shifts, zooming in on the shopfronts and boarded-up windows in spaces where human beings used to trade and compete.
Then, within a few short lines, we are presented with an image of hyrax taking over these formerly human spaces. The poem’s biggest surprise comes in a line in brackets, as if it was included at the last moment: “(nature is healing).” With a shock, we realise that the nature being described here does not heal or console human beings at all. On the contrary, it is healing itself, for its own sake. And it can only do this because of the absence of the humans who would normally threaten it. From this point onwards, the poem’s focus is entirely on the hyrax who now roam freely in spaces human beings have abandoned.
Does this mean that the world presented here is a happy, idyllic place now that humans no longer threaten the natural world? Well, not exactly. The poem ends in ambiguity, with a final glimpse of hyrax, “loitering on empty corners”, behaving raucously, “getting into knife-fights and trouble.” In other words, creatures other than humans also fight over the same territory. Resources are still limited. Even so, the natural world is healing, simply because human beings are suddenly absent from the scene. Van Schalkwyk has forced us to examine our assumption that human beings and their concerns are at the centre of any action.
In the next few days, write a poem in which you unexpectedly change perspective. You could either write it in different sections, each from a different angle, or change your point of view gradually. Aim at creating something that will be surprising in some way.
The annual AVBOB Poetry Competition is open for submissions until 30 November 2026. Visit www.avbobpoetry.co.za today and familiarise yourself with the competition rules.
