there was a country

Kwesukesukela
There was a country
disappearing.

lank lank gelede
kwakunesizwe

wat byna verdwyn het.

Once upon a time
Everydays flickered
in and out
of breathes in monotone.

Kwesukesukela,

Rocks became pebbles
To keep them from being small
and breathe was shot out
so people held it,
just to keep it.

Lank lank gelede
      (before new spaces were
fought) everydays traced
themselves
in whispertones

with silence facing the static

Once upon a time
anger was steeped in silence
and silence coloured everything
_____

Kwesukesukela there
was a country

That disappeared.