“Do you think I can do this?” “Why not?” “It’s a bit scary, and I’ve never used a mic.” “Never?” “Nope.” “Well, you can have a go. It’ll be fine. Trust me!”
“Hmm, I’m thinking about it. Let me look at all those wonderful books.”
“Ooh, I have got this… and this… and this as well.” “Look, we’re in this one together.” “It’s that anthology.” “Great book… all those poetry people.” “And almost all around the world.”
“Anyway, that was fun, but now I have to dash.” “So you aren’t going to do this?” “What shall I say? Later, perhaps?”
~~~
Thanks to Rochelle for hosting Friday Fictioneers Genre: The Truth and Nothing but the Truth Word Count: 100
Earth Day – Monday 22nd April 2024 The poem is a metaphor. From the start of begin of the of beautiful Mother Earth around the world. Then it moves on. The planet is smaller, more unsure and frightening, wondering how life with remain.
For a little while, during lockdown and covid, Mother Earth had a brief respite where the noise of engines fell silent and wild animals walked the streets, it seemed that nature just might have a chance, but once again, pollution spews, plastic continues to fill the oceans and the ice caps are melting even more quickly.
I am particularly pleased that Robbie Cheadle read my poems What will become of us? You Tube – there it is.
Purchase Poetry Treasures 3: Passions from Books2Readand Amazon: Paperbook and Kindle (sadly for me, only ebook is available from South Africa, but never mind).
However, during the month of April, all poetry volumes on the WordCrafter Press backlist are on sale for only $2.99 each. Find this with Kaye Lynne Boothhere.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I first wrote my poem, ‘What will become of us?‘ back in April 2019 from the prompt ‘What do you see?‘ from the wonderful Hélène Vaillant, although sadly she’s gone to a better place.
From the very first time I stepped onto the continent of Africa in 2003, that moment when I put my foot onto the tarmac at Cape Town airport, I felt a strange tingle in my bones; I felt I’d come home. So far as I’m aware, I have no family roots anywhere on this huge continent, but nevertheless, I felt an affinity with the land. Even before connections and coincidences led me and my husband to start another chapter in our lives in South Africa, ten years ago, I’d become fascinated with the landscape, the wildlife and the people who’d foraged along the shores and wandered over the wide, scrubby grasslands of the veld.
The story of the original inhabitants of what is now the Western Cape is a sad one of exploitation, displacement and dispossession, all so tragically similar to many of indigenous populations across the world. I’ve followed my fascination with those early people, the Khoisan through works of both fact and fiction – there’s a reference list of books I’ve read at the end of this post – but it’s their legends and customs that have increasingly inspired my writing.
A nod or two to those landscapes and traditions have wormed their way into my most recent novel, Song of the Sea Goddess, and the so far unnamed sequel I’m busy with now, but for the most part my inspirations have manifested themselves in some of the short pieces and poems which I’ve shared here on my blog, like my San Man stories last year, and more recently, my micro-fiction series, Owab and Aquila.
Also last year, when the opportunity arose, I wrote a handful of poems inspired by the legends and landscape of South Africa to submit for inclusion in Creation and the Cosmos – a Poetic AnthologyInspired by Nature, edited and published by the talented tara caribou of Raw Earth Ink. I was delighted to have all five of them accepted and to have my words included amongst the poems and photographs of a such a wonderfully talented group of creatives. Here’s one.
.
Call of the maiden
The breeze-caressed veld sways sending dry waves to break on a distant shore whirlwind dust-devils dance over bare earth rising up to be scorched into stillness.
Evening swells across the veld and the thorn-tree’s shadow reaches out with tendril fingers to caress the smudge-blue foothills.
As daylight fades, the breeze quickens and the new maiden emerges standing on the threshold of the distant koppie in that powerful place between hearth and wilderness.
She turns and kneels at the young man’s side offering herself to him. Limbs entwine and under the eyes of the ancestors they become one.
Darkness closes in and the great African she-moon rises pin-prick stars stab the violet-thick night and now the once-maiden cries out her triumphant ululation echoing across the empty veld.
Although there is an ebook version, I’d strongly recommend you choose the paperback. See how beautiful it is, shown off in this video by fellow contributor, Cassa Bassa.
luna's on line 