South African National Parks (SANParks)

citybound veldsounds

midnight echoes down
the hallway of my dreams,
and the roar of a distant, lone motorbike
conjures a lion’s hungry throat
from my buried bush-memory,
birthed out of the african night.

a flat-land neighbour flushes,
and the breeze bangs an open window,
my sleepy imagination interpreting
ha-de-dahs and hyenas snuffling,
not far from my fireside.

disco-rhythm pumps into the darkness,
and late-nite relaxers chat on the street,
then the city winds down,
spiralling down my subconscious
like the whispered arguments of children
in the confusing concerto
of urban community.

the morning star silently reflects,
in a tranquil lake of understanding peace
with waves of quiet communing,
showing the 4 a.m. suburbs in deep sleep,
finally deaf to the ceaseless restlessness
of noise…

life coming to itself vibrates
against my early morning ear,
and the music of humanity
focuses a hesitant listener,
as the unstoppable river surges onwards,
this arbitrary anthem,
a sound-track backdrop
to our existence.