Leaving
the Receiver’s office
down
on Pietermaritz Street
there’s
a brightening chance
of
ultra violet vigour
tingling
on my skin
after
a long La Niňa sodden week
but mind you there’s a
a spiking
wind.
Snow in late November!
Yes,
far west, high and deep
Beyond
the dripping blanket
greys
on Inhlazane’s
peak
Between a
pavement and a drain
the warming spot
of solitude opens flat on ember bricks
unflustered in
loud acid puffs of morning traffic.
Little opals
glint on velvet, fanning to a standstill
as though puzzling
where the city flowers fly
to fill their solar tanks.
Her formal black
and lace of eggshell
halts me like an
intersection red.
I almost drop my
SARS receipt to see her wink
as if she wants
me close enough to hear her say
I know just how much
the Tax man’s
going to pay.
La Niňa is the
Atlantic counterpart to the Pacific El Niňo
SARS is the South African Receiver of Revenue
Allen Goddard
