I.
Her favourite colour is purple, like the mulberries on the table.
She’s full of laughter, and she plays with the apple on the table.
She’s young and old: She lives on the hill near the countryside –
where all she hears are the cries of the lonely wind.
She’s bold and aggressive. She’s hilarious, unlike the army women of the west,
Her favourite delicacy is seafood, like the king prawns, not the honeycombs,
and she manoeuvres her way through the berry trees, some plantation
she has no interest in. She’s here and there, she’s everywhere –
She’s Miss Purple.
“Miss Purple, why don’t you take us with you,” the boys say.
“You won’t be able to manoeuvre yourself through these trees,”
replied the ugly Duckling.
“Miss Purple couldn’t hear this.”
II.
Her favourite colour is white, like the angels that shine bright in the sky.
She’s a wanderer, and she’s lonely amongst the forest, besides the trees,
she holds onto the mulberries she’s collected. She feeds on them,
she’s hilarious and stubborn. The casseroles are empty.
Rishan Singh is a writer and biologist who lives in Durban, South Africa. His work has been well received in South Africa and overseas. He received the eThekwini Municipality Library Award in 2014, by the KZN Department of Parks, Leisure and Recreation.