On The Ghostly Road Poem by Daleen Enslinstrydom

It is the longest route through the Cape Province,
it's as very quiet road
and almost desolated and sleepy,
a boring piece of landscape.
At midnight while the moon hangs low
as a yellow ball in the sky
the night is almost haunting
and in the silver glaze it's difficult to see even stars.

In the emptiness the wind howls though the Karoo
and on this April evening its very cold
and the vastness and the mountain brings a kind of sorrow
that lingers in your heart
and it awakes emptiness, a longing
for some kind of comfort
and while I am listening to sad songs on the radio
I do feel even more distant from reality.

Later the moon is out of sight
and even the headlights seems dull
when my imagination brings thoughts to me
that this is a place where ghosts may dwell.

The atmosphere is almost compressed
between a dream and reality
as the car's tires sings a song of loneliness
and as if created by the depths of my mind
she appears out of thin air.

When I stop and the door opens
the coldness of the mountain air accompanies her
and she is almost a pale-white
and her beautiful raven-black hair
falls down like a woven silk gown
and in quietness it's as if she is not really present
while her image lingers
and the road forks with the turnoff to Union Dale,
the temperature drops even lower
as if winter has climbed into the car.

When I turn the seat is empty
and the smell of roses and jasmine still lingers.
and I wonder if this was just an image conjured by imagination
or was this real?