down at the estuary the riverhas breached her bankpushed the crashing shorein a tumult of dark waterand waves.spawning fish waiton the turning tide. down at the estuarybetween the treeswater flows thick and darkswirling whirlpools and eddiesalong the rocks,scraping sand and old storiesfrom deep poolsto the sea to the sea. down at the estuaryhouses have been…
1.and what does the body rememberrain that runs rivulets down spine,cold stars, warm firehunt, chased, dancing, dancingthe earth so full of teemingthere was no tellingour heartbeat from the night. and who knewthis lonely silencewould come.this slow slide to comfortkeeping death from our doorsuntil death became the unspokenthe why of every moment of half living. does…
1.there are no crueland bitter gods here,no winter froststhat bite black deathin the shortening days – our gods are moon and sunand the green green growing,our gods are river and tree,the grass rattle seeds of summerand the songline of birdssinging bridges between worlds – the gods here speak frog-tonguefly translucent on insect wingsshatter the darknesswith…
before you slip away,unbidden and unboundas you are to my world,or i turn away from yours.before the airthat condensed to your formthins falters and returnsand we are no moreto one anotherthan play of light.waitto look upon your facebegins the unravelingof my world,but looking awayhas brought us to this brink.ask me creature,are you the otherthat creates…
downbeyond where the slopedropsdeep into valleywhere the treeslivebeyond timeand each breath becomes a prayerto our unspoken godsthere, moss cushioned, will iwaitfor you downin the darkof the waterdeepamong shards of lightswimming the softing tide –thrum of riverquenching my skin,playing my bonesdeer fluteto the forest sky.there in the deepamong our shardsof light, will iwaitfor you unyieldingin the…
heading towards the drylandsroad unravelling in the heat beyondand beyond and beyondcrossing rivers with names that once wereseekoei, olifant and leeuenboschfolding their green secretsinto damp seams of memoryand shaded river grasspassing fields of wind turbinestowering the grey veld and termite mounds and we yearn and lean across the distancetailing the long mountainswatching soil change from…
1.saturday early and the chickensare singing up a stormold women on wooden pewsthin church voices vining the rafters,soon it will be day enoughto open their doorscatter the grain –leave themto their bustling and scratchingbefore the rain. 2.in knysna the roadsare crammed with touristsescapees from the cityseeking holy days and silencebecoming the noise they left behind…
i have written your words on my skinto hold while i learn to speak you.shaped my tongue and breath around namesthat ache with the smell of you,murmured exhaled ripplesalong my palateacross your pebble bed backto the edge of sandy placeswhere your forest beingcrowds the shore. i have written what the birds singand the shape of…
restless to the sound of saw and chipperclearing deadwood around the houseahead of the fire seasoni cut my hair sewing scissorsin the bathroom mirror.long dark strands on the floor. in the quiet of eveningbeyond the sawsi buried it forest litteramongst the roots of tree.muttering prayers and promisesi hope to keep despite the slow creepof city…
when dark mother birthed usfrom the star trampled sky –nursed us by moonlight tenderas silvered ocean swelland watched us growsaw our long songs trailingtendril from the beginning of timeshaping and forming as we came taught us to sing holy holy is the nightbecause she knew and she knewthis light that shines brightin the dark of…