double-helixed uBuntu.
these interwoven veins,
dna,
double-helixed,
microscopic,
binding us, all of us,
together, as one,
species, one race,
human,
me & you
us,
all,
through
this common
shared
truth:
‘I am because you are’*
all of us
together
as one
me & you = uBuntu*
* – uBuntu is an isiXhosa/isiZulu concept that espouses the “belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity”
tied crudely
to belief
bound vilely
to faith
blindly floundering
in the forest of thorns
tethered and bound and tied
to cold belief and frigid faith
god knows
they say
who knows
god knows
i say
Epochs apart, yet,
bound by conscience,
Buddha,
Jesus,
Moses,
Muhammad,
Ram.
Enduring the whispers of time,
through creeds professed,
sermons preached,
and a million sins confessed.
Though,
the essence,
of these banished revolutionaries,
is ceremonially muted by ritual,
and gleefully crushed under,
grandiose edifices,
that serve Religion Inc.
“And the meek shall inherit the earth”,
an incendiary thought,
conveniently discarded,
for the pie in the sky that must be sought.
The tragedy of the banished revolutionaries,
stings.
stabs,
whispers still,
for us to hear,
through the din of the cacophony of prayer.
Buddha,
Jesus,
Moses,
Muhammad,
Ram.
The tragedy of the banished revolutionaries,
persists,
each day that we choose,
to shun the meek,
and mouth conscience-salving prayers,
for yet more silver,
and yet more silk
…last night’s rain lashed the city less like a whimper and more like a good solid hearfelt cry
while lightning whipped and cracked through the jo’burg sky
as the rain-gods of africa blessed us with their bounty from way up high
they say the gold beneath our feet attracts the electrical storms that are so fierce
the very tempests that stab my soul and into my fragile heart pierce
for the thunder that rolls and rumbles is loud enough
to proclaim that the hard rains that are gonna fall are going to be biting and rough
and though the streets of jozi empty rather soon
the clouds darken and the smell of humid hope inflames our oflactorial senses as we await the miraculous boon
and then all hell breaks loose and roams the streets of my beloved jo’burg wild and free
and the rawness of it all is a sight to hear and sense and feel and to in awe see
for the rain and the thunder and the lightning is frightening at times
slashing through the ash-hued skies and stripping me of my pitiful rhymes
for the force of nature is then pure and clear to behold
and in silence we stand and watch as the water drenches this crazy beautiful city of gold
a jo’burg shower is a sight to soak in and to absorb and to feel
for it has the primal energy to dazzle and frighten and make each and every one of your senses reel
and so…
I hope it rains again on this overcast and cool saturday
so to the gods of africa I say a silent prayer and say
all praise to you for blessing us with a land and a sky and a people so true
ngiyabonga, kea-leboga, ndo-livhuwa, siyabonga, dankie, thank you
thank you
thank you…
Scribbled Verse 