OF JACKAL BERRIES AND TERMITE

OF JACKAL BERRIES AND TERMITE

Exhausted tired and weary,
I sat down to rest awhile,
under the tree of the jackal berry,
the view had made the hike worthwhile.
The African Loeries’ cry of “Go-way! ”
Sounding closer to “Go where”.
Tis here I was born, tis here I will stay.
For Africa, I could never forswear.


The gentle breeze left me composed;
unseen tendrils lightly licking caressing,
in state of euphoria my eyes closed,
all stress and depression recessing;
amidst the music of the cicadas,
and the rippling of a nearby stream,
came visions of my forefathers,
crystal clear even in the dream.

Of them I asked one question
of the wrangled legacy they had enshrined,
the answer far from a confession.
“Real development is not leaving things behind,
as on a road, but drawing life from them;
with that life growing, spreading, reaching;
as from a root, stretching into a solid stem,
all barriers overcome by learning and teaching.

“Note the jackal berry on a termite mound,
its preference for savannah or a woodland;
liberally scattered over Africa they are found,
all the way from Ethiopia down to Swaziland.
the jackal berry persistently delicately drills,
With its tender root into hard baked crust,
deep into the core of the ant hills,
not disturbing the nest with its thrust.”

“In the tunnels not only the air it needs,
also an intricately planned infrastructure,
abounding in moisture from which it feeds;
enabling it to grow to great stature.
To have something to leave behind,
you have to build with what is at hand,
if you look to yourself you will find,
opportunities laying in wait in our land.

275 words
40 lines

Real development is not leaving things behind, as on a road, but drawing life from them, as from a root. - G.K Chesterton (English Writer)