In the eastern cape of Qunu
where hills once squealed
at the drooping feet of time

a herd boy who saw beyond the hills
joined forces with
a convocation of eagles
along the cratered route of liberation
to trim the fronds of inequality

but yet..
freedom fell like stripped leaves
the rattlesnakes eased their bellies
on matted liberty
and pelted fangs that left tongues feverish

while his dream went through
bottled years in Robben Island
he amassed the bravery of ghost gales
that seek no repose even in the heat
and held those feeble arms
that stoked coal mines

the rainbow that spanned from
Cape Town to Thohoyandou
arched stronger than the mystifying tooth
of a mouse that shells
the strongest of kernels

it stretched longer than the
flinty splinter that breaks
from an evening sun
and fleshed soils with black-hood

the herd boy who saw beyond the hills
returns to his ancestors- a Trojan elephant
from whose trunk
the forest knew no thirst