die klank wat my siel maak

in hierdie winter klimaat 

droom ek van 

warm gedagtes wat 

my hele wese 

sal 

oorneem

ek swem in 

die klank wat 

my siel maak

swem vooruit totdat 

ek in 

die klank 

wat jy maak 

in swem

ons harte maak 

geluide wat ons 

van 

mekaar 

laat 

hou

 - Lara Kirsten

Forestspeak

Hemmed in by tangled trees,

wrangling with feelings

twined by unkind deeds

I hear nearby

the woodpecker knocks

a rat-a-tat rhythm

alerting

the heart

to another beat;

the small birds flirt

with whirr and cracking

seeds and chirp;

and the leaf frond

at my face

has holes in its foliage –

the result here not of unkindness,

but also, after all,

of a lesser creature’s need.

                                                23^rd May 2015

 - Silke Heiss