Casting Spells That Work Poem by Sarah Mkhonza

Don't ever touch me
For if I cast a spell
On you only the gods will
Save you. It is while herding
Cattle that I learned my bag
Of tricks and swear they work.

Walking in the forest
When my father's herd
Has disappeared while
I napped under a tree
Means waking up and
Praying to the God
Of the times that they
Are not in someone's field
For they love the mischief
Of harvesting things green
And causing quarells that run
Through lifetimes in my village.

My heart, racing I tie
Clumps of grass as I go
For I could go in circles
Forever and not see ground
Already covered. My ears are
As sharp a razor as is my wit
For to return home without the
Herd means a little comma in
The freeze of embarrassment
For now the elders have to
March into the forest and
Split in all directions
And like demons they must
Call out skills old while
I await the judgement at the
Court of sleepy heads that nap
At the cost of the lifeblood of
Men of my clan. I swear they were
Born inside the bellies of their
Stock.

Two tricks I must perform
To cast a spell on my father.
One to stop him from shouting
And another to make it hard for
Him to open his mouth and spit
At me venom of an udder. Pick
A pebble and put it under my
Tongue and I can hear him
Stuttering on the first word
And his 'what did I do to
Myself this child! ' I know
Then that he is calling on
The world to answer him for
He dare not lay his hands upon
Me. Thanks to the pebble under
Tongue.

To get his arms not to lift
Up high as they beat me twig
Them I must. As I run looking
For these beasts I put two twigs
Under my armpits and make sure they
Stay there even when I bend
To tie a clump of grass for
That is the only sign that
Tells me my sense of direction
Is right.

Tracks on the ground useless
Will tell you little in tall
Grass, but one thing brings
Hope fresh dung.When green
And herbaceous it means hope
That says you are not only on
The right path but near finding
Your father's herd.

The bull then bellows and you
Listen whence that sound came
From for you have prayed the
Name of your leader of the
Herd till he heard you. You
Go in that direction and find
Them sitting chewing the
Cud like angels feasting
On blessed manna on the
Tables of heaven. The only
Difference is in the color
Of the manna. Scold the bull
You do not for he kept them
All together and saved you
From a beating.

You drive them home
All worry gonecfor
You all pass the drinking
Hole water them and set off towards
The sunset. Rest comes when
They sit and chew the cud in
The krall.