I went on a ride on my bike through the spirit towards Delta Park. When I reached the park, it was bursting with people (all at an appropriate social distance) absorbing their last chance to be in nature for a while. There was so much joy and happiness at being outdoors which was in stark contrast to the crisis looming over our country. It was moving. So I got off my bike and wrote this.
The Corona Prism Tomorrow has taken on new significance: Tonight not just another sunset Today not just another day. Tomorrow has filtered the spectrum of our lives Colours for what is important And what Is not. We lived today for itself Realizing the little things that matter And forgetting the big things that don’t. We walked together in parks (At a distance) Wrapping ourselves in nature Some for the first time In a long time. We noticed pinkwhite cosmos That were rooted there for months And bee eaters of telephone lines That have been here since October. We reveled in the simplicity of a walk And dusted off a bicycle. We listened to the wind in the leaves And children laughing. The world seemed different today. Maybe a difference that should be A just is. And tomorrow things will change. But maybe we will look through our prisms And nurture the nucleus of our families. We will find joy in books again, Have real conversations And learn about each other. We will empathize, Reassess And love. Maybe the day after tomorrow Will reveal a world Of better people All because of today.
0 Comments
When I though of Etosha, my mind went to images of parched desert and waterholes that were overflowing with animals. My experience there was something very different.
After being in Windhoek for the Junior Round Square Conference, we made our way north to Etosha. It had been raining for days, and the Namibians were celebrating the vast deluges from the sky. The drought had been broken and dams that had been empty for years were reaching full capacity. By the time we would leave, the sluice gates were being opened...the first time on fifteen years. So Etosha was wet to say the least. The ground which was meant to be pretty much devoid of plant life, was filled with the yellow flowers of devil thorns. A blanket of green stretched as far as the eye could see. As a result, the waterholes had become superfluous as the animals were drinking from the huge puddles that had formed on the side of roads, or they gained the moisture that had quenched the vegetation. So we spent a lot of time driving, and we saw some great sightings. I was unaccustomed to the fast herds of regal-looking gemsbok, black-faced impala, and rutting springbok. There were dazzling numbers of zebra and lots of bird life. For some reason, thee was something effecting the zebra and at one point we saw seven different dead zebra, each one being feasted upon by gangs of vultures. We also saw two separate lion kills and families of jackal. The vast open spaces were dotted with gargantuan sociable weaver nests that hung from umbrella thorn trees. The earth had a flatness that seemed to draw the landscape into infinity. I could imagine Etosha being a harsh place to exist when there wasn’t rain, but this time, there was an unusual abundance. The springbok seemed to be the most celebratory when it came to the rain, with spirited pronking happening at any opportunity. We spent much of our time at Okaukuejo, the loosest camp, that featured remnants of the German occupation decades earlier. In the center is a lookout tower that looks like it belongs in Europe, built by the white stones from the area. The rondawels were also previously accommodation for Goan officers as they fortified the area. So, Etosha was not the desert that I expected and although we didn’t follow the queues of game that would make their way to the waterholes, I enjoyed the wildness of the place. It feel untamed and with a bit of an imagination, I could imagine this arid eden carving away a special place in my heart. It was a beautiful space, and I would like to visit there again. |
ContentSome thoughts about things, sometimes philosophical, sometimes just musings. The world through my eyes... Archives
March 2023
Categories
All
|