Europeans came,
Invaded,
Struck us dizzy with their cultural blow.
Thought
They had discovered paradise.
We thought the sea had sent them to our land.
We did not know.
We watched them – wife, child, dogs in tow.
There had to be a reason for their coming …
More came … and more …
We watched
Bewildered as they spilt out on the shore
In thousands …
We retreated
From the lands that we had wandered,
Retreated deep into the veld
Unsure about this strange occurrence.
Talked for hours
Of this thing, we did not understand.
As the years went on
The tide of white men did not ebb
But flowed.
We wondered why the sea had sent them
Why the ancestors approved.
Until at last, we gave up wondering
And sank back into the desert veld
Exiled from our land.
Not long ago an aged Pondo
Said to me
The sea had suffered indigestion
And spewed them on the beach.
Maybe he was right.
Editor and journalist