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They throw in Drummer Hodge, to rest
Uncoffined—just as found:
His landmark is a kopje-crest
That breaks the veldt around:
And foreign constellations west
Each night above his mound.

Young Hodge the drummer never knew—
Fresh from his Wessex home—
The meaning of the broad Karoo,
The Bush, the dusty loam,
And why uprose to nightly view
Strange stars amid the gloam.

Yet portion of that unknown plain
Will Hodge for ever be;
His homely Northern breast and brain
Grow to some Southern tree,
And strange-eyed constellations reign
His stars eternally.
Christine Ueri Jul 2016
(rough translation)*

debt
debt
debtor

tonight it howls
in tumbleweed tongues
beaten about and windblown
over a barren, over-there road
a dust-tongue stretches
licking skeletons
all the way to feet of the silver hills
that lie in the moon of the Little Karoo

debt
debt
debt in vein

Mother is a stranger
just standing there and sipping tea
in another woman’s blue kitchen

debt
debt
debt in her

all staring at the cracks
reflecting on the windowpane
the fragile earth’s
dismembered

but

the rain will come
my child
the rain will come
prophesy the rust-red clouds

all bellowing in the wind

Mother will stand
unequivocal
as untamed buffalo grass --
rooted and valid
Tao Mar 2019
Peter, from the dry Karoo
Never cries, because he's poor
Always does what he is told
Never questions, he's not that bold
Drags his feet so he can walk
Moves his lips so so he can talk
Though he's known to never utter
Even wishes he could stutter

Peter, from the dry Karoo
Skin so dry, eyes so poor
Wishes he could smell a flower
So his life could be something other, than dour
Food is soft, so he can chew
His gums are sore, his teeth are few
His liver, drier than a mummy
Hmm.. Never knew his own mummy

Peter, from the dry Karoo

Sees farmers cry, for rains to pour
The pipes are dry, their hands are sore
No one knows what else is in store

The people don't have much to eat
Their families might live on the street
They're threatened death
They're land be lost
Their children shot, killed at no cost

Taking land without compensation
It's the talk of the town,
in every conversation
#pray4karoo
Ankit Dubey May 2019
Jab bhi khush hota hu ye sochkar k kuch aur paas aye ** tum mere,
Kismat har baar tumhe aur door le jati hai....

Har baat yaad karne lag jaata hu jab bhi mai,
Teri majboriya mujhe kuch aur yad karne ko majboor karti hai.....

Tere pyar me tujhe sochkar hi tere aks ko choone ki jab jab koshish karta hu,
Har bar kismat mujhe khud k koi aur hone ka ehsas karati hai.....

Har jarre me jab teri tasveer najar aati hai,
Tab bhi na jaane ku aankhon se ojhal hone lagti **......

Bhoolkar bhi agar koshish karoo k ye ehsaas hi bahut hai k tum meri **,
Naa jaane ku tu un ehsaason me bhi kuch aisa kar jati hai,
k yaad rakhta hu tumko aur tu kuch aur door chali jaati hai.......

** gya hu adat se majbur fir bhi tumhe pyaar karta hu,
aur ye dillagi hai k har baar tumhe aur pyar krne ko majboor kar jati hai......
Christine Ueri Jul 2016
skuld
skuld
skuldenaar

dit suis vanaand
in tolbos tale
rond-en-wind-ge-foeter
oor ‘n dor doer pad
‘n uitgestrekte stoftong
lek geraamtes
tot aan die silwer koppies
in die Klein Karoo se maan

skuld
skuld
skuld–in–aar

is Ma ‘n vreemdeling
wat staan en tee drink
in ‘n ander vrou
se blou kombuis

skuld
skuld
skuld–in–haar

al starend na die krake
weerspieël die vensterglas
‘n aarde broos
verbrokkel

maar

die reën sal kom
my kind
die reën sal kom
profeteer die roes–rooi wolke

al loeiend in die wind

sal Ma staan
onmiskenbaar
soos ongetemde buffelsgras
gewortel en gegrond
-------------------------------------
13/02/2016
Aasim Le Roux May 2015
There was a lady who lived in the Karoo
She dreamt she was in Peru
She woke up that night
By a Light
And realised she had the FLU

— The End —