The Dance of the Rain

Eugene Marais 1871 (Pretoria) – 1936 (Pelindaba)



Oh, the dance of our Sister!
First, over the hilltop she peeps stealthily
and her eyes are shy
and she laughs softly
From afar she begs with her one hand
her wrist-bands shimmering and her bead-work sparkling
softly she calls
She tells the wind about the dance
and she invites it, because the yard is spacious and the wedding large
The big game rush about the plains
they gather on the hilltop
their nostrils flared-up
and they swallow the wind
and they crouch to see her tracks in the sand
The small game, deep down under the floor, hear the rhythm of her feet
and they creep, come closer and sing softly
“Our Sister! Our Sister! You’ve come! You’ve come!”
and her bead-work shake,
and her copper wrist-bands shine in the disappearance of the sun
On her forehead, rests the eagle’s plume
She decends down from the hilltop
She spreads her ashened cloak with both arms
the breath of the wind disappears
Oh, the dance of our Sister!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 16, 2023

51 sec read
92

Quick analysis:

Scheme AbcbdefghijkldmbnopqjrsA
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 925
Words 171
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 24

Eugene Marais

Eugène Nielen Marais was a South African lawyer, naturalist, poet and writer. more…

All Eugene Marais poems | Eugene Marais Books

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