Gedicht
Angifi Proctor Dladla
SPRINGTIME ON THE ROAD TO NABEEP
SPRINGTIME ON THE ROAD TO NABEEP
SPRINGTIME ON THE ROAD TO NABEEP
On the road to Nabeep I gasped and stoppedabruptly right in the moment – the keys
of the sun opening, without breaking,
the colours of Namaqualand.
The whole land suddenly exploded
into a magical panorama of purple,
yellow, orange, white, violet, blue.
Rocks and thatched roofs afar dazzled
with life. I suspect even the heads
and chins of herbalists and farmers
were part of the festival of flowers.
If heaven has streets of gold,
rain of milk, snow of honey;
the new arrivals’ destruction of Earth
is a shrill cry to the Almighty.
Men of men had never daydreamed
about heaven; Namaqualand is still a melody of colours:
Bees, birds, red earth; beetles, faeries, butterflies.
I plunged into the Opening Ceremony with the San’s song,
“Oh Gxaraken flower, are you opening?”
In my head I heard the aroma of chorus,
“We are opening Ncku-kyam flower.”
© 2010, Angifi Dladla
From: We Are All Rivers
Publisher: Chakida Publishing, Katlehong
First published on PIW, forthcoming in We Are All Rivers, October 2010.
From: We Are All Rivers
Publisher: Chakida Publishing, Katlehong
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SPRINGTIME ON THE ROAD TO NABEEP
On the road to Nabeep I gasped and stoppedabruptly right in the moment – the keys
of the sun opening, without breaking,
the colours of Namaqualand.
The whole land suddenly exploded
into a magical panorama of purple,
yellow, orange, white, violet, blue.
Rocks and thatched roofs afar dazzled
with life. I suspect even the heads
and chins of herbalists and farmers
were part of the festival of flowers.
If heaven has streets of gold,
rain of milk, snow of honey;
the new arrivals’ destruction of Earth
is a shrill cry to the Almighty.
Men of men had never daydreamed
about heaven; Namaqualand is still a melody of colours:
Bees, birds, red earth; beetles, faeries, butterflies.
I plunged into the Opening Ceremony with the San’s song,
“Oh Gxaraken flower, are you opening?”
In my head I heard the aroma of chorus,
“We are opening Ncku-kyam flower.”
From: We Are All Rivers
First published on PIW, forthcoming in We Are All Rivers, October 2010.
SPRINGTIME ON THE ROAD TO NABEEP
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