Arjas' Undergarments; a story of fetish

Undergarments
BY Arja Salanfranca

Bra, panties,
You’re in my fantasy
Garters, stockings, it’s really quite
Shocking
Negligee, teddy I am quite ready
Silk, satin, let’s make it happen
Whips? Mask?
Maybe we’re going too fast.


Undergarments’ is a poem clothed in cheekiness. It seems to subtly ask, how far you can take your kink. It addresses a serious issue in a comical way, albe

it not lightly. She takes you on a journey of longing and ecstasy till that point where moral boundaries and personal values are breached. The theme of sexuality is a theme that has been addressed quite dynamically by most African writers. To many, sexual fetishes have been a cultural import and particularly, paraphillic tendencies are viewed as quite strange and taboo in most African cultures. In 'particular' because sex is natural which means a fetish may exist anywhere but will vary cross-culturally. It reminds me of ‘Acholi Love’ by Taban Lo Liyong’ published in the Transition where he explores African sexuality vis a vis western viewpoint of love and sex. It is a comical read to say the least. That's a write for another day, here Arja's piece is visually provocative, language used casually suggestive and in a ‘cliché’ tone and has a rather simple and friendly flow. The poet is definitely non-obfuscate in her use of language and allusions; anyone is able to get with ease what she’s passing across.
A good friend in-boxed this piece and it quite put a cheer in me and within five minutes I wanted to acquaint myself who this Arja was. I must say google spell-checked me ‘Salafranca’ quite a number of times. I still can’t pronounce the name without putting an ‘n’ before the ‘f’. Anyway, this SA writer and poet was born in Spain in 1971 and has written fiction, poetry, essays, journals and anthologies. I definitely want to get my hands on many of her works, especially her poetry collection. This is not the last you are meeting her on this blog so watch this space.