When I Heard the News

By Vusi Moloi © 2011

Unseen before forever away
My feeble effort like sparse array
But it was never to be
You are now departed
Never more to be seen
When I heard the news
I cringed like from a wound
Retreating into the inmost
Deeply saddened by the passing

When I heard the news
I jolted like shell-shocked
As if detaching from a tree
Never more to be re-attached
When you mothered us at Phomolong
We prized your mothering
To be forever cherished
By children once diminished


Contextual Commentary

When I walked with Ouma of Ngonyama through the gates of your receptive home, you embraced us with unbounded loving that shall never be forgotten. While seated at your feet, you shared great words of wisdom like a legendary griot in an African royal court. You showered us with mothering love while steering us away from the voracious jaws of the apartheid killing machinery. It was heartwarming when you reaffirmed your ties with the great Mfenes! Oo Jambas! We took your words to heart as your children in great need of mothering. Your sudden departure for the heavens is too soon! An empty void now haunts the terrestrial globe on which you once walked like an indefatigable superwoman. We shall forever pay tribute to your sacred heart as Mama Sisulu of Phomolong.