Letter to the White Imbongi

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Open Poetry #48

Letter to the White Imbongi

KJOTT
Member

since 2012-12-26

Posts 87
Canada

0 posted 2013-10-22 10:42 AM

Imbongi, in South African tradition, is the name-title of a Praise Poet. The imbongi's art is in the composing and voicing of poems praising a chief, a figurehead or other important person. Praises for what they have done, are doing or will surely do and the events surrounding them.

I imagine a great imbongi with poet-friends who relay information to him from far away. In particular, this poet writes about the thoughts he supposes have come from a distant cloud of locusts.

_________
.

Letter to the White Imbongi
.

These are the thoughts of the locust thrum
That which is done
That which is done

From the ripple the thought is the rock is God
From the rock, the Earth
From the Earth, Sun-Moon
From They the thought is the Milky Spiral
The spiral known as the Eye of God
And from the Eye all space is His
Gift of glorious and of noble heights
And from the Eye all space is Hers

These are the thoughts of the locust thrum
That which is done
That which is done

Praise them, then, the locust mind, the flights of stone,
All Earths, their Suns and every Moon
Praise galaxies
Praise Space— Her heights!

These are the thoughts of the locust thrum
That which is done
That which is done

OwlSA
Member Rara Avis

since 2005-11-07

Posts 9347
Durban, South Africa

1 posted 2013-10-22 03:07 PM

I enjoyed your imbongi, though I didn't understand quite all of it.

I see you are in Canada.  Are you originally from South Africa?  I live in South Africa.

I have also written an imbongi.  It is  called GILBERT KHUZWAYO, WE WILL LOOK AT THE SUN AND REMEMBER YOU.  You will find it in the Archives on
/main/forumdisplay.cgi?action=displayarchive&number=110&topic=000101

Owl

JamesMichael
Member Empyrean

since 1999-11-16

Posts 33336
Kapolei, Hawaii, USA

2 posted 2013-10-22 10:17 PM

enjoyed...James

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