Ndaba Sibanda writes

Dear Granddaughter   

Granddaughter, granddaughter, I hope and pray that you will realise the full potential

of your greatest power that lies in the spirit of our connectedness as human beings --

an embodiment of all the tributaries, tentacles and roots of human existence and love.

Granddaughter, granddaughter, let a love for oneself be the foundation for selflessness,

let a love for humanity be the essence and treasure of your sacrifices, dreams  and victories --

let it knit you together with other human hearts into a commonality that enriches diversity.   

Granddaughter, granddaughter, what is life without companionship and sharing and loving?

For in a polarised world like ours the path to love or an act of love and kindness can be easily

interpreted or perceived as a sign of weakness, or can be abused, but please stand your ground.                    

Granddaughter, granddaughter, listen to the words that proceed from my old mouth,

You`ll have childhood friends, enjoy the vitality of that friendship but more vitally, 

embrace the ephemerality of it too, and move on. By the way, I had childhood friends too.   

Granddaughter, granddaughter, listen to the words that proceed from my old mouth,

You’ll have to deal with oscillations of delight and distress, lures and lies because

life is a rhythm, a dynamism that swings from side to side, that sways back and forth.

I’m telling you this because I want you to be a strong soul who can make bold decisions

and actions and not turn towards a world ruled and wounded by fear, hate  and darkness --

but one whose anger and fear is no match for love, hope and the fellowship of humanity.        

I’m telling you this because I seek to open up doors into everything you need to know 

about the hilarity and complexity of life. How to live it is purely your business, nonetheless     

live it honorably and abundantly. Embrace its highs and lows with pride. Dance, for it`s once. 

Your Loving Granny,

Maphosa  

(Otherwise known as NakaLandisa/The Talkative One)

Study of God's Trombones -- Aaron Douglas

Ndaba Sibanda writes

The Bright Sunlight That Outshines The Dimmer Stars

When it appears fully well-lit from the Earth`s perspective ---

sun-lit, roughly every month, we view lunar splendor in action! 

Sometimes I wonder how it is like to visit an uncharted territory ---

to blast off and land on the lunar surface, ( I hear your roar of well!)

Talk of a Neil Armstrong special, talk of me walking in style! Differently!

Actually, picture me running more rapidly than any soul ever expected! 

Consider this: they say the gravity on the Moon is 16.5 % (1/6) what one

would experience on Earth, and so if I jumped a bit for good measure, 

guess what—bingo—I could prove that flying is not the privilege of birds!   

I guess one would have to overcome the weak attraction of the surface 

and hop over as one explores the Earth`s only natural satellite,

I mean the fifth-largest natural satellite in the Solar System

that enables one to weigh less on it than one would do on the Earth;

Yes, I retaliate: one that makes one`s jump higher than normal!

And as one moves faster in space, time goes slower, talk of an age

bonus and being over the moon in the truest sense of the word!

Wait a minute… envision me looking for any evidence of life

as I step on elegant dust filled with pebbles – and finding none!

What an awe-inspiring experience that could be!! 

 

 Astronauta Optimus Maximus -- Alan Bean

Slip Slidin' Away -- Alan Bean