I PREPARE A SALAD BEFORE THE EYES OF MY FATHER Poem by Marlene van Niekerk

i prepare a salad before the eyes of my father
what leaves he asks what grass which small green plovers
quarrel down there in the wetlands of light and grace
he pages through the years, white napkin around his neck
and strides with noble calves through the tops of wild mustard
where the bony blue heads of guinea fowl shift
and the summer evening brown and sweet
sits upon a perch and the arms of the hourglass weed
droop down in the dust in this dale of shadows says my dad
and lifts the dish up in his hands the small golden leaf roller
sits calling in the gully of the bulrush
oh lord enfold me too in the compass of your crucible
make me sweet and hear my song let this green food
be blessed unto our spirit my dad eats leaves
my dad eats grass and speaks in tongues.