At dusk, rain threatened.
A soft musky fragrance of incense curled from the mosque on
Signal Hill.
Beyond the mosque, just down the path where everyone walks or runs,
hidden in the fynbos, is a scattering of kramats.
This place is where six or seven Islamic wise men and teachers
have been buried for centuries.
Some kramats are ornate,
some just marked by stones,
but all covered with a fabric chadar,
pilgrims’ sign of devotion and reverence.
Over here all the kramats
are also surrounded by fynbos -
rose-scenting pelargoniums, imphepho, wild rosemary.
On this day rain drops down on the chadars,
mist covers the pine trees and the big mountain slowly disappears.
As-salam alaykum. Peace
be upon you, whispers the mountain.
And it does.
|
Rain drops on the chadar. |