LES MERTON
Oasis
I paused by an oasis
that reflected the grey green
of an alien sky.
I scooped a mug full
of water out and purified it
with clean and good tablets.
I sat on a multi-coloured rock
and relished the refreshing drink
in the same way condemned men
enjoy their last meal.
I skimmed a few flat stones
across the still water surface.
Ripples were non-existent.
I walked away shouting
'Is there anybody there!'
The silence is very loud.
Afzelia Quanzensis
Ndola, Zambia
The Afzelia Quanzensis in Ndola
is a tourist attraction; protected
by an iron fence with a locked gate.
Overhead branches spread past
security and the large leaves
create an umbrella of shade . . .
Shade was always essential
for the men, women and children
from many different tribes
who came together here.
Communications
between tribes was limited:
each had its own language
even down to the very name
of the tree they sheltered under.
The Kaonde people named it,
Musambamfwa Nkulakazhi,
the Lamba called it Mupapa,
the Lunda word was Mwande.
The English later dubbed it
Pod Mahogany or Lucky Bean Tree.
Today the desolate aura of the trade
conducted here is epitomised
with the vernacular name:
The Slave Tree.
forgotten soul
mesmerised
by abandonment
she picks lichen from a tomb –
above a soakaway of bones –
quietly
Les Merton was made a Bard of Gorsedh Kernow in 2004 for services to Cornish Literature. He is the founder and editor of Poetry Cornwall and the author of seventeen books, six of which are poetry collections.
