Here in mid-South Africa our rains traditionally arrive at the beginning of October and they are so very welcome after a long, dry winter. To give you an idea of our winters - daytime temperatures hover around the 24C mark with some slightly colder or hotter days. Only the fairly chilly nights demarcate summer from winter. I should also mention that we only have two seasons a year - summer and winter and, even then, these tend to overlap and merge into each other at times.
What glorious rain we had yesterday where I live in Lombardy East, Johannesburg, South Africa.
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| Rain clouds in Lombardy East, October 2017 |
The poem is dedicated to my South African, Dutch and Flemish friends who will understand it. A lot of the nuances are lost in translation but I'll see what I can do in English for my non-Afrikaans-understanding friends.
For a little English person, I guess I didn't forget my Afrikaans roots after all. While we were enjoying the most glorious rain yesterday, we were talking about the farmers saying that 'die reen kom om en by Oom Paul se verjaarsdag' (the rains will arrive around Paul Kruger's birthday - 10 October). So, this Sunday morning I wrote a Thank You, Lord, poem - in Afrikaans.
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DIS OKTOBER MAAND EN ONS WERELD SLUK ASEM
Die grond se dors
Inkrimp die are
Van mens
Van dier
Van plant
Van aarde
‘n Dors wat duur
‘n Dors wat talm
‘n Dors wat die hart
En die lewe
Laat staan
En toe kom Die Dag
En toe kom Die Nag
Dis ‘n kosbare tyd van die jaar
Elke jaar
Dis ‘n kosbare tyd van die jaar
Elke liewe jaar
Ons kyk na die hemel
Ons kyk na die son
Ons kyk na die aarde
En ons ervaar
Dis ‘n wonderlike tyd van die jaar
Elke jaar
Elke liewe jaar
Ons wereld sluk asem
Ons wag vir die dag
Van Oom Paul se verjaarsdag
En die val
En die val
Van die reen
Die dag van Oom Paul se geboorte
‘n tyd wat selfs die Hemel onthou
Die tyd toe die lug
Met opregte sug
Toe begin van vreugde huil
‘n Tyd vir die mens
Vir die plant
Vir die dier
‘n Tyd van onbeskryflike plesier
Toe ons nie meer hoef te skuil
Van die droog
Van die hitte
Van die hitte en die bitter dors
Ons wereld sluk asem
Ons wag vir die dag
Van Oom Paul se verjaarsdag
En die val
En die val
Van
Die
Reen
Ons dank U, Liewe Jesus
Ons dank U, God ons Vader
Ons dank U
Vir die seën
Van U kosbare reen
Ons dank U, Liewe Jesus
Ons dank U, God ons Vader
Ons dank U
Vir U Seën
Ons dank U
Vir die wonderbaarlike reen
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IT’S OCTOBER MONTH AND OUR WORLD DRAWS BREATH
The ground’s thirst
Shrivel’s the veins
Of man
Of animal
Of plant
Of earth
A thirst which endures
A thirst which lingers
A thirst which makes heart
And makes life
Stand still
And then comes The Day
And then comes The Night
It’s a priceless time of the year
Every year
It’s a priceless time of the year
Every single year
We look to the heavens
We look to the sun
We look to the earth
And we accept
It’s a wonderful time of the year
Every year
Every single year
Our world draws breath
We wait for the day
Of *Uncle Paul’s birthday
And the fall
And the fall
Of the rain
The day of Uncle Paul’s birth
Is a day even Heaven remembers
That time when the air
With a sincere sigh
Began to cry with joy
A time for man
For plant
For beast
A time of indescribable pleasure
When we no longer need to hide away
From the dry
From the heat
From the heat and bitter thirst
Our world draws its breath
We wait for the day
Of *Uncle Paul’s birthday
And the fall
And the fall
Of
The
Rain
We thank You, Dear Jesus
We thank You, God, our Father
We thank You
For the blessing
Of Your priceless rain
We thank You, Dear Jesus
We thank You, God, our Father
We thank You
For Your Blessing
We thank You
For the miracle of rain
(*Uncle is a polite way of referring to an older person, or someone who is dear to one – in this case, Paul Kruger, President of the South African Republic (or Transvaal) from 1883 to 1900.)
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