Nature Too High To Forestall * Poem by Niki Nicholas Nkuna

I have nothing that brings me close to all things bright and beautiful
I live in the farm next to the mountain
I see and hear Gods things all the time
But made so high I can’t touch even if I wish to
They are visible to spite my ego
And stretch my longing forever
Man-made things are beautiful too
But small in the induction of awe and wonder

Unaware that I’m close to the real life of all things bright and beautiful
I pity myself for being far from the city
I pity myself for being unable to touch the Donald Trump tower!
I could only dream of the cars being self-driven
People sitting in them enjoying my dreams

Unaware that nature is dead in the city
What you see is the glitter of broken stones,
The dress of the earth, and bent of the steel
The air smelling artificiality
The sound of work and play as peculiar as the walk of the city

Living in the farm next to mountain
Few things detract my mind
I see two colours only
One bright and beautiful beyond fathom
The other, dull as the absence of life
I can only look up to the heavens
For nature to fulfil its promise, now and then

Indeed things do change by God’s time table
I do not have to break stones and bend steel
I just have to cut wood, make fire and cook
Free greens and fresh meat, domestic or wild game
Things of which have become history or a dream to city dwellers

The marvels of nature higher than the city skyscrapers
Drawing lonely legions all the time
To come see and marvel at the wonders of nature
Unbroken by human innovation and war
The might of nature higher than the human invention
Thus the cities are turned into rubble by the stroke of God’s single finger
Rebuilding of the cities endless
Because nature is too high to forestall

N Nkuna,24 September 2013