Come dusk their formations form.
Shiny eye-pairs open and multiply;
Ranks gather, march, then jog.
Advancing into kitchens, barns and crevices,
They flow over walls and puddles-
Chirping streams swirling by-
Then merge with the dark.
In bare rooms, quivering carpets, grey- brown,
Form moving wall-hangings then become
Long drum-rolls to-and-fro atop the ceiling.
Overflowing onto cat-less streets, dodging cars-
Occasionally not-
Those brownish elevations
On the surface;
Coloured with red splashes of congealing blood:
Soon most homes are overrun:
Here and there a dog whimpers,
Some cower and wail,
Till brief liberation comes with first light,
And the musty odour that reminds of past and coming nights,
That are ruled by giant Gauteng rats.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem