The Trail of Umesatshwa
Time is such a fantastic phenomenon
It is like water flowing down a raging waterfall
It never goes back but leaves a trail of memories and thoughts
That are indelibly etched in our minds.
Again, the meeting of the minds is a beautiful thing.
When people agree, there is unity,
Which paves the way for great things to happen
Allow me to please ruminate,
To chew the cud about a time gone past.
Allow me to remember uMnsizwa (1898-1978), my beloved father,
Whom to me was like his favourite river Umesatshwa – he was revered, not feared!
“Umesatshwa! Umesatshwa!
Get me water from Umesatshwa”;
He whispered in my ear;
Before he crossed the river Jordan,
To be with his ancestors.
My father was born in a small village called Ogunjini at the convergence of the
Umesatshwa and Umdloti rivers.
As they converge to form a stronger tributary into the Indian Ocean.
This is indeed the place at which he longed to be buried!
At the banks where both rivers converge
Umesatshwa
The great Umesatshwa was always pristine
from where people quenched their thirst
The Umdloti was the utilitarian stream from where
cattle, donkeys, sheep and goats drank
Along the helpful laundry spot for the villagers.
The two streams never looked the same!
One was lighter, and the other darker
But they joined together like in holy matrimony
To flow in unison to the Indian Ocean, nothing could stop torrents
Umesatshwa, the feared and revered – the two in one!
Umesatshwa delivers what is indeed
the mystery and magic of life and its possibilities!
Umesatshwa delivers what is indeed the mystery and magic of life and its possibilities!
