the gods return
we hear them
unpacking on the stairs

the ones who came from
the gate of crocodiles
      the ones who caused
      the unpredictable weather

the guardians of the doorframe
      tuned to the night insects
      cracked as the tree of memory

with them a ghost
the tyrant father
      forgive me, he explains
      I was marooned in thirst

let him die a second time
his death will be a downpour
to extinguish electronic fires

                        *

      the wind returns
the moya of Steve Biko returns

the wind asks
who will care for the people
      when our economies have turned into casinos
      when our ecologies have turned into zoos?

I asked the iqgira from Cala
Who goes down to the sea each year
To renew his strength from the ocean snake
– the iqgira asked the powerful dead
the powerful dead answered him:

language will be born again from silence
the ceremonies of time will be restored

plants and animals will decide
which human voices speak for them

the ones who will care are here already.