Page:A Treasury of South African Poetry.djvu/164

 DAY AND NIGHT UP-COUNTRY. the unshaded veldt
 * The ruthless sun

Pauses, as though he felt
 * His course half run.

The noontide world stands still
 * And gasps for air;

Lifts every breathless hill
 * A forehead bare.

Along the quivering ground
 * The heat-haze hangs,

Casting a mirage round
 * The aloe fangs.

Down by the dam, knee deep,
 * A brooding band,

Like statues seen in sleep
 * The cattle stand.

And stretched beside them lies
 * Their Kaffir herd,

Watching with narrowed eyes
 * The weaver bird.

In the hot glare, how near
 * The distance seems!

The league-long hills show clear
 * Through all our dreams.