ROCKS AND ROLLS

Rocks of ages gone, once singularly
Crushed by sweat and anguished
Sparse-rewarded toil, lie now in endless
Rows that pave the way once just
A muddied track: across the dyke,
Above the fields of inundated rice there
Moves a rag-tag band of old and young,
Of cattle, ducks and geese, and
Carts piled high with market fare;
And quatre-a-quatres*, of course,
Cocooning Tana's** wealthier elite,
While whisking them to town oblivious of the
Scents and stench of urban village life.
So when these cobbled rocks reflect,
they offer back not heat alone, nor noise
Nor rough-edged passage - nothing more -
but rather find their deep ancestral voice
That cries "It is enough! For justice
Now let Madagascar strive!"

Antananarivo
Madagascar,
April 2013

*The colloquial phrase for a 4x4 vehicle,
the equivalent of a “Chelsea Tractor”
** The local name for Antananarivo