Poetry

There is a mystery in the secret magic
and intricate way of how nature works
and in a almost barren semi-desert
a water-pan becomes an object of survival
and a natural wonder of the world
when it makes the difference between
life and a thirsty death
and although a pan might be largely dried up
a little bit of water attracts
wildebeest and zebra
and the predators like the lions,
hyenas, jackals and wild dogs
that does follow them.
 
Ants burrow lime up from beneath the earth
which attract the big game to salt licks
and the buffalo, eland, gemsbok, kudu,
wildebeest, impala and springbuck
churn up the earth
as they do create
a small muddy hollow.
 
Later a small shallow salt pool appears
which the game uses for wallowing and drinking
and when the heavy seasonal rain comes
the rain swells the salt pool to a larger pan
where some more game wallow, drink
and carry some of the mud away.
 
With the passing of time
the pan becomes a larger lake
that is not more than a few meters deep
where a myriad of game
and predators gather
in the eternal struggle for survival.