The Pulse of the Earth

It is a large valley bordered by sandstone cliffs

shadowed by olive trees

a river runs through it

blocks of rock of potent origin

scissored in lacy designs

by lightning, water, sun, frost and wind

forced into shapes never seen

orange, terra-cotta, cinnamon

and the green, the evergreen of life

the scent of soil and acrid bushes

pungent leaves of thickets

wind sand and scorching rocks

lizards and duikers

ancestral land of the Bushmen

where live the leopard, baboon, antilopes

extreme land

either withered with heat or flooded

where grow the olive, almond, citrus and mango

stars exploding in diamonds

ancestors stories abound

a planet bright as a lighthouse

silence, wind, stars, rock,

sun, moon, water, birds,

river, cascade, hand paintings

rocks carved by the elements

heart of the earth pulsing

beauty beyond all thinking

majestuous features

parchment land, sizzling sandstone

hieratic cliffs

enigma demanding an answer

millions of years engraved in these rugged shapes

proteas, ericas, dassies and butterflies

discreet animal life, programmed to survive

bushes turned into gnarled shapes

colours as vivid as the sky

big skies as blue as the ocean itself

wild ether, unaffected

by the turbulence of humans below

sunsets baking in accomplishment

mountain, steady wall of ochre, red, chocolate

iron filaments in the stone

the elusive presence of the shy cape cobra

weaver birds, guinea fowls,

and the million invisible life

ever struggling for perpetuation

Life, ever evolving, ever transforming itself

mineral reign, animal, vegetal, and human, cohabiting

exchange of the hearts, bleeding with love

echoes of ancient memories

genes pairing and assembling

my genes responding to the call

Inner, irresistible call of blood

cellular coherence, proximity

Life in its kingdoms, ever renewed,

cells responding to each other

Desert call

Silence of the subtle matter

in the wind’s soft murmur

Vibration

Harmony

Life passed on a million years

astral light, merciless heat

rooted soul of the elements

the joy of leaves fluttering in the wind

making the sound of rain drops

windows shut to the scorching afternoon heat

the soft carpet of grass

giving in under the feet

foot imprints shaping the sand

paths of human and animal kind

rock paintings telling stories

of ancient shamanic trance

calling unto the elephant spirit

to come and heal the world

Very old tales told and seen

traces of ancient remedies

memories of past things

lived and gone

I want to stand up and scream : Happiness !!

(Cederberg, South Africa, march 2022)

(c) DM