My mother warned me of the people that blacken the night,
Of their instruments strung to rattlesnake dances that happen at night
My mother’s caution came in the humming of her love
Because she knew well, the camouflage of the bracken of the night
Can counsel shelter?
Can counsel shield a child from a sun that sets to sadden the night
What of the victims of the slithering stings?
Let them fight as they sing to slacken the night
Take heart, ma cheri!
They can be slain, these dragons of the night.
Aaishah Mayet was born and bred in the City of Gold, Johanesburg, South Africa. She currently works in the Healthcare sector which, for her, has bridged the frontiers of our shared human experience. As a self-confessed bibliophile of many years, literature remains, at once, her teacher and her sanctuary. Her works include Haiku published in the Lotosblute, as well as:
https://www.amaliah.com/author/aaishah-mayet
https://live.fundza.mobi/home/fanz/poetry/refugee/
https://www.iol.co.za/entertainment/whats-on/joburg/more-than-girl-fridays-896174
http://www.activemuse.org/pubs.html