Alex Smith

Sherissa Roopnarain is 22 years old. She loves travel, friends, music, eating pomegranates and laughter. Sherissa is currently in her Honours year at the University of Cape Town and lives in the city with her mother, Roshni and sister, Avania. Her love for her continent, country and its people is inspired by her journeys to the home of her grandparents in Durban, Kwa Zulu Natal. With her Nani, Sherissa has translated Orphan’s Lullaby into Hindi.

Nani’s Sari
By
Sherissa Roopnarain

the amnesiac sun rolls up
the yellow mat of the moon
on the corner of Harford Place and Spencer Road
the child swings from the washing line
concentric silk of urgent colours
embellished with the heat of her dreams

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the water unfolds
from the broken coconut
the echo-filled drops
shatter against the girl
naked navel of silver green
humbled with the shreds of her laughter

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the praying wind snatches
the fragrance of the nocturnal sugarcane
from the strings of the sitar
the goldenred benares soothes
the intricate mehndi on the supple skin
the darkness journeys north of the bride’s desires

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the overwhelming threads of bougainvillea
stand old and transparent
on the corner of Harford Place and Spencer Road
the tears of the girl amplifies
the benediction of the cotton white pleats
a nani’s sari.
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