South African Spring – Kind Eyes and Strange Places

Justice ‘Restored’ in Stellenbosch

Posted on October 8, 2020October 8, 2020 by kindeyesandstrangeplaces

Here’s something we can all agree on: It’s nice to see good things happen to good people.

And anybody who knows Justice knows what I’m talking about.

Justice Shamba is one of my favorite people that I encounter during my frequent outings in the town of Stellenbosch, where I live. Earlier this year, I used to see him nearly every morning after class at my favorite local yoga studio on Andringa Street. He worked next door, serving up Hazz coffee behind a neighboring retail shop window.

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Prose, Strangers

A message to the sidewalk sleeper that he will never hear

Posted on September 2, 2020September 15, 2020 by kindeyesandstrangeplaces

When I woke this morning, I heard you fighting across the street with Cleopatra in the vacant lot that you both regularly inhabit.
A Wednesday morning turf war.

We started calling her Cleopatra when we moved in last year.
Every night I would hear her from the vacant lot, screaming the most pearl-clutching Afrikaans profanities at phantom companions.
I would count the number of times she would shriek “Jou ma se….####!” until I could finally fall asleep.

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Nature Writing, Prose

For A Fallen Tree

Posted on April 11, 2018November 11, 2019 by kindeyesandstrangeplaces

I sensed your tragedy before I even realized what had befallen you. You, an acacia tree older than my country. Me? A humble witness to your inevitable downfall. You, baring your branches high on a bluff next to the Emmarentia Dam, innocent and ignorant to the dangers of natural electricity. When I found you it looked as if a giant had pulled you apart like a head of broccoli, splitting your trunk and throwing your remains, with the slightest clues of charred wood now permanently burned upon you. Continue reading “For A Fallen Tree” →