A Tribute to the Fish River Canyon, Namibia
I. Stop the Clocks
We descend through aeons
Layer by layer
Swallowed by the ancient snake
Wandering along the arteries of our thirsty Mother
Stop the impatient clocks!
Enter into geological time
Strip off the manic masks of civilization
Step into soul land
Invisible life weaves the fabric of our path
Footprints upon dusty spoor
Clawed and cloven
Scorching sun
Refreshing river
Rest brings relief to muscles strained
Untrained
A symphony of silence settles
A veil of red rays ushers in the bride of darkness
Her black dress laced with sequin stars
Her shadowed neck hung with lunar pendant
We dance into our dreams …
And awake to a new world
II. We Are Alive
We winch ourselves out of cosy cocoons
Creaking with rusted joints and aching limbs
Until motion oils and massages us forward
On our wilful march
Slipping and sliding
Splashing and crashing
Stumbling and tumbling …
We bruise
We bleed
And know we are alive
‘Cross shimmering stone and shifting sand
‘Neath searing sun and crumbling cliff;
Through the barren bad-lands
The sombre sad-lands
The curséd mad-lands!
Every drop of energy sucked and sapped
‘Til at last we call a halt
The swallows dip and dive
The fish eagle cries
We have survived!
The fire licks our wounds
III. That Sinking Feeling
The scenery blurs beneath the unforgiving blaze
Quicksand tugs at our ankles
Rock shards stab at our feet
The elusive horizon taunts us
The eternal “why” haunts us
A regal heron and nervous hare take flight
Bright, cheerful flowers bloom
Where there seems no right to life
Then the desert erupts into a gushing waterfall
Flowing down to majestic pools and through intricate channels
With the fluid hand of a master sculptor
Inviting respite from pain and progress
The icy river injects life back into our numb senses
The sun bows out to thunderous riverine applause
IV. A Promise of Out
Over the hump and into the canyon funnel
As sentry baboons bark: “Intruder alert!”
And klipspringers glide across the ragged stage like graceful ballerinas –
The wasteland blues are behind
Our ephemeral thoughts and mood are lighter
But our feet must still plod painfully onward
Through unforgiving terrain
Every step a burden of weight and pressure
Spiral etchings on the glossy plastic jet-black rockscape
Hint at travellers gone before
Perhaps ancient
A pair of fish eagles ride the thermals
With mocking grace and ease
At peace with land, water, sky
The watchful crags let slip their eroded disguise …
Sphinx, tusker, leopard, ape …
Then shimmy back to inanimate rock once more
At last, the distant peninsular summit
Explodes into expectant view:
Home on the rise
A promise of out
V. The Final Ascent
We rise early
Teetering on the fragile cusp between night and day
With finishing fever pulsing in our veins
The towering landscape flows beneath our eager tread
As we succumb to the magnetic pull of civilisation
Amidst vivid visions of all that is familiar and comfortable
Human prints and scattered litter show the way
The gift of orange seems heaven sent
Our turbo fuel for the final ascent
Step by step, we drum
The slow, steady rhythm of the climb
Driven by an unquenchable inner fount
Of strength and hope
Peering faces over the ledge
Are all the reassurance we need
To soar on chill-wind and chain
And clasp our holy grail
We are done
We have endured
Our old life back
Is our reward
Yet after the canyon of mirrors
We see through new eyes
Wayne Visser © 2017
Book
I Am An African: Favourite Africa Poems
This creative collection, now in its 5th edition, brings together Africa poems by Wayne Visser, including the ever popular “I Am An African”, as well as old favourites like “Women of Africa”, “I Know A Place in Africa”, “Prayer for Africa” and “African Dream”. The anthology celebrates the luminous continent and its rainbow people. The updated 5th Edition includes new poems like “Africa Untamed” and “Land of the Sun”. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.
