An African Night

Just for a moment, take some time out from writing, or thinking about writing, or reading about writing, or avoiding writing and let me take you somewhere else.  For a few seconds, let me whisk you away to the depths of.....

An African Night

The dense black sky holds you tightly in its grip.  It tempts you with effervescent stars, beckoning you to faraway galaxies.

As you gaze up at worlds which are long dead, the sounds resonating here below remind you of life on the edge.  The distant throaty, rumbling roar of a male lion proclaiming his territory.  The whoop whoop of snorting zebra, uneasy at the presence of predators.  The honking sound of hippos emerging from their jacuzzi to take a midnight stroll and check out their favourite eating places.  The small pond, quiet and peaceful during the day, now allowing its population of frogs to raise their voices in a chorus of amphibian passion, their love songs filling the air.

The hubbub of sounds that lets you know that this is no ordinary night.  This is an African night.  It is bursting at the seams with life.  You cannot see any of it under the inkiness of the moonless sky, but you can hear it everywhere.  You are reminded how microscopic you are in this wonderful place, this birthplace of humanity, this land boiling with delights.  This Africa.