Gedicht
Chris Magadza
BY DAY AND BY NIGHT
BY DAY AND BY NIGHT
BY DAY AND BY NIGHT
In the rising hopes
Of the morning
When the robin
Greets the new day
With melody and chirp
And the painted sky
Delights the soul
And warms the land;
When the wise and the poor
Exchange civilities
And innocent children
Make merry
In the blessing sun;
Call me Stephen.
But
In the sombreness of the night
When the darkness
Smells and exudes evil,
When the hyena’s eerie laughter
Teases death;
And nature’s night sentry
Calls
Whoo, Whoo goes;
When haunting spirits
Connive on my being;
And rob me
Of the poor man’s only gift.
Sleep;
When I see
My father’s hand
Reaching for me
To take me
From this abyss;
I am Ndapota
Of the morning
When the robin
Greets the new day
With melody and chirp
And the painted sky
Delights the soul
And warms the land;
When the wise and the poor
Exchange civilities
And innocent children
Make merry
In the blessing sun;
Call me Stephen.
But
In the sombreness of the night
When the darkness
Smells and exudes evil,
When the hyena’s eerie laughter
Teases death;
And nature’s night sentry
Calls
Whoo, Whoo goes;
When haunting spirits
Connive on my being;
And rob me
Of the poor man’s only gift.
Sleep;
When I see
My father’s hand
Reaching for me
To take me
From this abyss;
I am Ndapota
Harare, 2000
© 2006, Chris Magadza
From: Father and other poems
Publisher: Poetry International Web,
From: Father and other poems
Publisher: Poetry International Web,
Here the night sentry refers to the African Wood owl, Strix
woodfordii, whose call is an eerie hooting. In Zimbabwean beliefs,
owls are regarded as agents of evil doers, who use them to transport death
to their intended victims.
Gedichten
Gedichten van Chris Magadza
Close
BY DAY AND BY NIGHT
In the rising hopes
Of the morning
When the robin
Greets the new day
With melody and chirp
And the painted sky
Delights the soul
And warms the land;
When the wise and the poor
Exchange civilities
And innocent children
Make merry
In the blessing sun;
Call me Stephen.
But
In the sombreness of the night
When the darkness
Smells and exudes evil,
When the hyena’s eerie laughter
Teases death;
And nature’s night sentry
Calls
Whoo, Whoo goes;
When haunting spirits
Connive on my being;
And rob me
Of the poor man’s only gift.
Sleep;
When I see
My father’s hand
Reaching for me
To take me
From this abyss;
I am Ndapota
Of the morning
When the robin
Greets the new day
With melody and chirp
And the painted sky
Delights the soul
And warms the land;
When the wise and the poor
Exchange civilities
And innocent children
Make merry
In the blessing sun;
Call me Stephen.
But
In the sombreness of the night
When the darkness
Smells and exudes evil,
When the hyena’s eerie laughter
Teases death;
And nature’s night sentry
Calls
Whoo, Whoo goes;
When haunting spirits
Connive on my being;
And rob me
Of the poor man’s only gift.
Sleep;
When I see
My father’s hand
Reaching for me
To take me
From this abyss;
I am Ndapota
Harare, 2000
From: Father and other poems
Here the night sentry refers to the African Wood owl, Strix
woodfordii, whose call is an eerie hooting. In Zimbabwean beliefs,
owls are regarded as agents of evil doers, who use them to transport death
to their intended victims.
BY DAY AND BY NIGHT
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