The last two weeks of October were fraught with full-on caring for sick son Paul. During this period the one salvation and source of light relief was walking Zara. The Radley Dog Park is colourful with wild flowers. They do not cut the grass in the spring till the flowers are over. This is so as to allow the birds and butterflies to take full advantage of their bounty.
10th. Jon, Nicki and Henry arrived elr afternoon nd once they were settled in we all took Zara for a walk along the vlei. Them hime for a duck dinner and an early night.
11th. Jon took me to Kingsbury Hospital this morning for a biopse. it did not take too long and was not a big deal. We went hone to pick the others up and then went to Kalk Bay for a mooch about and lunch at the Reef. The weather turned very overcast, cooler and drissly but we had a nice time non the less.
hidded gems and the harbour
Lunch at The Reef
In the evening we went to The Commons for poetry reading and open mic. I read the poem below as we were still quitw close to All Hallows.
WITCHCRAFT!
If I ensnare you
And against your will
Captivate, spellbind,
Hold you still
Within my web
Of paralising passion
Robbing you of reason.
If I make you loose control
Pledge heart, wallet, soul
Will you cry “foul”
Will you name me “bitch”,
Worse, “witch”?
And swear on Halloween you saw me fly.
If with a flashing eye
My craft I ply
To tie you to me
With bonds of desire
And in your belly light a fire
Defying extinction.
Will I provoke rebellion?
If with curvaceous calf
I lead you on
To places you’d prefer not to have gone
To actions you had rather never taken.
Will you declare you were mistaken,
Lead astray, spirited away
From normal self.
If with my bare arm
I work a charm
Your resistance to disarm.
Then will I cause alarm.
If by some clever trick
I make you quick –en
Into virile, standing life.
A bludgeoning bulge
That will not budge.
That sits within your brain,
Causing you pain,
Demanding satisfaction.
Will you be stirred to action
And with some violence take
What you perceive was flaunted.
And when it’s done
Will you be haunted
By the bloodied thighs
Smashed face, uncomprehending eyes.
How will you plead?
That every girl child
Is a wanton something, wild,
Out to intoxicate and blind
The simple mind of man.
Will you decree that she
Henceforth must cover all
And only thus be seen,
Or not at all.
And will you blame
Your failure to contain
Your baser urges, saying,
“All is not as it seems,
they are the stuff of fantasy,
bad dreams, weavers of spells and schemes,
daughters of darkness, devilry and vice.
Wicked as witches, cold as ice,
Creatures of Halloween.”
