Soudah and Dutchman

Soudah, a Malaysian slave lived in Cape Town’s slave lodge, her knee bone damaged after decades of scrubbing floors. She escaped northwards, hearing of a bone surgeon in Mpumalanga.

“Will you dance with me ?”, were the first words tumbling from his Dutch lips. He did not see her broken identity, confused caramel aura, threadbare clothing. Colour lived in sunflowers and sky, clothing in merino wool, eyes in streams and sunlight. She saw milk dripping from udders of his cows, his boots highly polished.

flower light at night
clear is vision, incision
spirit food landing

Her slanted coal eyes opened wide. She stood up from a wooden crate at a side door. The Dutch rhythm was deep, soothing. Her knee bone clicked into place.They swayed to cheering mielie farm workers.

Black and white dissolved into moist Gaia, healing a divide and a knee. Sunflowers shed their seeds as Sun set into her eyes, drinking rooibos tea.

earth and heaven sing
unity twine to bring hymns
fling op-art, live now