Walk slowly through the narrow paths of life

Along Chilala slopes to where the waters fall

In cascades down the igneous rocks that wall

The gorge from centuries of human strife,

And make this quiet kloof a haven rife

With birds that sing their restful song, and call

Us from the anxious life below which all

Must leave, reluctant as a man his wife.

Walk slowly through the pleasant paths and see

Creation's beauty grace an autumn day:

While aloes tease the butterfly and bee

The locusts dodge the waving grass in play.

Enjoy the walk and seek not just the end,

For it may hasten more than we intend.

Chikankata

July 1976