Ma,
ek ko huis toe
daai berg wat blou
oor ons stad le,
roep my;
in ie donke ure van ie nag
sy stem
praat my ore sag
en ie lied van ie suid-oos wind maak
lawaai in
my lee mag
Ma,
ek ko huis toe
my hart is vol van verlange
en ie trane wat soos klippe
oor my wange loop
le hard en swaar op my bors
en maak ie asemhaal moeilik
Ek mis
ie see
en ie ruik van sout
wat voor ons voordeur le
op ‘n somer oggend
geswel met ie hitte
ek mis ie tonge en taal
van my mense
en hul stemme
wat plat oor ie woorde val
die vel onder my voete is afgeskeur
van ander lande
se paaie en ander mense
se pein
deurloop
die bloed in my are
klop aan ‘n ritme
wat ek in hierdie groen land ie vind ie
Ma,
ek ko huis toe
daai berg wat blou
oor ons stad le,
roep my;
in ie donke ure van ie nag
sy stem
praat my ore sag
en ie lied van ie suid-oos wind maak
lawaai in
my lee mag
Ma,
ek ko huis toe
die grote wereld se tyd is verby
en ek wil weereens le
langs
jou sy
Ma,
I’m coming home
that mountain towering
over our city like a blue hue,
beckons
in the molasses folds of midnight
his voice
softens the folds of my ears
and the south-easter
sings in b-flat
as it winds through my empty heart
Ma,
I’m coming home
my heart overflows with yearning
and the tears roll down my cheeks
like rocks
and stifles the breath in my lungs
I miss
the sea
and the smell of salt
that finds its way to our front door
on summer morning’s
swollen with heat
I miss the voices and words
of my people
and the way their tongues
hold words in their mouths: flat and rough then sometimes flat
and smooth
I have walked through the skin
on the soles of my feet
winding through another country’s streets
another people’s pain
the blood in my veins
beats to a rhythm
I cannot find in this green land
Ma,
I’m coming home
it’s time to leave the world behind
now it’s you who
I want to lay
beside