Petrichor
Gilead slips in and out
of anger and sleep, anger and sleep
Rain clouds gather
as we wail and weep, wail and weep
over a nation
somewhere
over the rainbow
a nation is click-click clicking
songs
of hope deferred
of loss of hope
of pride
of place
of station
of face
click-click clicking
because
Qongqothwane
is hard for some to say
because sometimes
it’s hardest to say the words
you really mean
to say what you really want
what you really feel
so we click tongues
and pens
and keyboards
and heels
because
there’s no place like home
there’s no place like home
there’s no place
like where the heartache is
because we have had enough
of drought and desperation
and dirges and cold blood
and the smell of fear
and smoke and fire
because
we want to hear
the knock-knock knocking
of Qongqothwane,
because we want to click our fingers
as we sway our hips
to wedding songs
and kick up our heels
on dance-floors
and on dirt roads
and follow Qongqothwane
bold
up the hill
to survey
what is ours
because
we want to hear
the knock-knock knocking
of Qongqothwane
as it strikes the earth with its belly,
knock-knock knocking
as it points the way home,
knock-knock knocking
as it spells
the promise
of the softening
of parched clay
the promise
of the fragrance
of
heaven
touching
earth
of anger and sleep, anger and sleep
Rain clouds gather
as we wail and weep, wail and weep
over a nation
somewhere
over the rainbow
a nation is click-click clicking
songs
of hope deferred
of loss of hope
of pride
of place
of station
of face
click-click clicking
because
Qongqothwane
is hard for some to say
because sometimes
it’s hardest to say the words
you really mean
to say what you really want
what you really feel
so we click tongues
and pens
and keyboards
and heels
because
there’s no place like home
there’s no place like home
there’s no place
like where the heartache is
because we have had enough
of drought and desperation
and dirges and cold blood
and the smell of fear
and smoke and fire
because
we want to hear
the knock-knock knocking
of Qongqothwane,
because we want to click our fingers
as we sway our hips
to wedding songs
and kick up our heels
on dance-floors
and on dirt roads
and follow Qongqothwane
bold
up the hill
to survey
what is ours
because
we want to hear
the knock-knock knocking
of Qongqothwane
as it strikes the earth with its belly,
knock-knock knocking
as it points the way home,
knock-knock knocking
as it spells
the promise
of the softening
of parched clay
the promise
of the fragrance
of
heaven
touching
earth
BIO:
Shannon is South African of African, Asian and European heritage. Her experience of prejudice and privilege in various forms encourages her to explore the uncomfortable truths that challenge our assumptions and expectations; the crossroads where professed belief and lived reality are forced into confrontation. She lives in Durban.
Shannon is South African of African, Asian and European heritage. Her experience of prejudice and privilege in various forms encourages her to explore the uncomfortable truths that challenge our assumptions and expectations; the crossroads where professed belief and lived reality are forced into confrontation. She lives in Durban.
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Footnote:
Petrichor (/ˈpɛtrɪkɔːr/) is the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil. The word is constructed from Greek petra (πέτρα), meaning "stone", and īchōr (ἰχώρ), the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology.
Qongqothwane: A traditional Xhosa song, also known as the Click Song (so called by the colonialists who had difficulty pronouncing Qongqothwane); popularised internationally by Miriam Makeba. Qongqothwane literally means ‘knock-knock beetle,’ a variety of darkling beetle that taps its abdomen on the ground and is also able to revolve the top of its body ‘to point the way home’ in children’s games. It heralds the coming rain, is symbolic of good fortune, and of pointing the way to a better future in times of trouble.
(The writer spent their formative years in the Eastern Cape province where this song originates)
Footnote:
Petrichor (/ˈpɛtrɪkɔːr/) is the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil. The word is constructed from Greek petra (πέτρα), meaning "stone", and īchōr (ἰχώρ), the fluid that flows in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology.
Qongqothwane: A traditional Xhosa song, also known as the Click Song (so called by the colonialists who had difficulty pronouncing Qongqothwane); popularised internationally by Miriam Makeba. Qongqothwane literally means ‘knock-knock beetle,’ a variety of darkling beetle that taps its abdomen on the ground and is also able to revolve the top of its body ‘to point the way home’ in children’s games. It heralds the coming rain, is symbolic of good fortune, and of pointing the way to a better future in times of trouble.
(The writer spent their formative years in the Eastern Cape province where this song originates)
