I slept in the shadow of White Mountain
but around the high temples of the mountaintop
beyond the silvery bonnet of eternal snow
I could see wreaths of light shivering
this big this untouchable this white
this high my knowing will never reach
and through my fingers I tried to count
the sacred beads of scintillating stars
this big this untouchable this white
this high my knowing will never reach
and through my fingers I tried to count
the sacred beads of scintillating stars
to liptaste your name once again
to capture as light raindrops your name
on my bitter tongue to plant your name
like an idol in the ground of my dreams
to capture as light raindrops your name
on my bitter tongue to plant your name
like an idol in the ground of my dreams
a god to bless my further journeys
for in calling your name blind on the way
with the blood of your name in the mouth
I crawl up ever steeper whitenesses of you
for in calling your name blind on the way
with the blood of your name in the mouth
I crawl up ever steeper whitenesses of you
Breyten Breytenbach’s works include All One Horse, Mouroir, Notes from the Middle World, A Season in Paradise, Dog Heart, The Memory of Birds in Times of Revolution, and Voice Over.
