»to her grace i dance«
(by Moemise Motsepe)
(for my daughter, Siamisang)
soon i will be an old man
i wear my mark of age
i bear a claim to wisdom
two
three
four or more
strands of grey
have made a home on my chin
on me grow the ashen roots
the signature of my years
footprints of a thousand seasons
in the horizon above the hills
twilight beckons in its golden glow
soon i will be an old man
my age is in my eyes
my rage is in my past
i have washed off the memory of blood
and soaked my hands in milk
with the setting of the sun
begins my journey to the gods
like the mountains i have become
a witness to africa
her anguish and her beauty
her shame and her dignity
her agony and her glory
her tale of a thousand aches
and her rebirth
come with me to the mountaintop
and together on the throne
to feel her resolve
to see her promise
join me
to her grace i dance
my africa
her veins are the roots in my heart
which bleed a promise into yours
my africa
-ends-
? Moemise Motsepe
Wednesday, 28 March 2007,
Johannesburg, 03h30
soon i will be an old man
i wear my mark of age
i bear a claim to wisdom
two
three
four or more
strands of grey
have made a home on my chin
on me grow the ashen roots
the signature of my years
footprints of a thousand seasons
in the horizon above the hills
twilight beckons in its golden glow
soon i will be an old man
my age is in my eyes
my rage is in my past
i have washed off the memory of blood
and soaked my hands in milk
with the setting of the sun
begins my journey to the gods
like the mountains i have become
a witness to africa
her anguish and her beauty
her shame and her dignity
her agony and her glory
her tale of a thousand aches
and her rebirth
come with me to the mountaintop
and together on the throne
to feel her resolve
to see her promise
join me
to her grace i dance
my africa
her veins are the roots in my heart
which bleed a promise into yours
my africa
-ends-
? Moemise Motsepe
Wednesday, 28 March 2007,
Johannesburg, 03h30
written in March 2007 : submitted on March 2, 2008 : viewed 191 times
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