My DNA Remembers
Africa is winning my heart
back to its beginning.
My DNA stirs, remembers.
The Blacksmith Lapwing
with its hammer-on-an-anvil call
wakes my brain.
The Hadada Ibis boss me off
from under the tree where three
shine their green wing gloss.
The giraffe gazes down on me
with buddha compassion
and animal patience.
A zebra stands stockstill
beside the side of the rover,
waiting for me to understand.
The antelope teach of grace and speed.
One-ton Elands in the distance
with tightly-spiraled horns,
jump their weight from standing,
like feathers floating over a five-foot fence.
Wildebeests
with hump and boxy, bearded head,
with curved horns and shaggy mane,
move like a wave across the grassland.
Springbok pronk and prance for joy.
Blesbok stare at me, white blazes
running down their faces.
Earth kisses my feet.
This ground feels familiar
from before and long ago.
A rumble of power
rises, rises up.
Reclaims me like a mother.
My DNA remembers
back to its beginning.
Africa is grounding my heart.
©Susa Silvermarie 2026
Bird Hide at Rietvlei Nature Reserve
I can’t imagine the other-worldness of it all. So glad you get to experience it.
Wonderful poem, with all the African animal kin. Disfruten!
I haven’t been keeping up. Didn’t know you were in Africa, a place I wanted to go when my friend was still living. Now she is gone and your poem grabbed me and stunned me. I want to do what you are doing but I don’t know if I can any more. My brain …
I just typed a long comment. I don’t think it was sent. Maybe I’ll try again later
Thank you for taking us along!