Roberta Writes – Two poems for d’Verse and Story Chat #poetry

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d’Verse – Celebrating groundhog day

Frank is d’Verse’s host for today and this is his prompt: Had enough Arctic cold? Buried under unseasonable snow? Or, for those living south of the equator, are you enjoying an arid summer? Well, whatever your situation, you might have heard about a certain rodent prognostication. Frank Tassone, here, & honored to be your host for another Haibun Monday, where we blend prose and haiku together. Today, let’s celebrate an American, weather-predicting tradition with Northern European roots: Groundhog’s Day.

You can join in the d’Verse challenge here: https://dversepoets.com/2025/02/03/haibun-monday-2-3-25-celebrating-groundhog-day/

You can find Frank’s poem here: https://frankjtassone.com/2025/02/03/groundhog-night/

As I live in southern Africa and it is summer here and we don’t have Groundhog’s Day, I have Africanised the prompt and incorporated two Zulu mythological creatures that bring the rain, thunder and lightening. In South Africa we get rain during late spring and summer and nothing at all during late autumn and winter. We can go up to eight months in a normal year without rain so by the time it arrives, we are desperate for relief from the heat and dryness.

The Forsaken

The angry sun savaged the land. Pouring its heat down onto the earth that cracked and broke under the relentless assault. The cattle grew thin, sharp ribs poking through their scraggy hides, while clouds of flies buzzed around their dry eyes and mouths. The crops withered in the fields and the people lay lethargic and parched inside their thatched huts. The milk in the breasts of the young mothers dried up and the babies cried themselves into early graves.

Unkulunkulu — “The One Who Carries Heavy Blows”, also called Rainbull, kept his mighty horns pointed at the sky, forcing the clouds to withhold their rain. He watched the daily passage of the boiling sun across the sky and dreamed about the cloudless nights when the bright stars performed undisturbed against a velvety blackness.

One scorching day, he shook his massive head and his horns accidently pointed towards the land below. The opportunistic rain seized the moment and flooded down in sheets accompanied by Impundulu, Lightening Bird, who summonsed thunder and lightening through the force of its wings and sharp talons.

The parched earth, unable to absorb the deluge, regurgitated the water creating flash floods across the land. People, animals, trees, and bushes all disappeared into the swirling brown whirlpool while Unkulunkulu, faced with his gross neglect, stamped his great hooves and cried pools of tears.

Unkulunkulu

Why have you forsaken us?

Direct your horns well

If you are interested in the Zuly Rainbull myth, you can read it here: https://medium.com/mythology-journal/the-spectacular-story-of-zenzele-and-the-rain-bull-0732de860a33

Last August, TC and I visited Jaci’s Treehouse Lodge in Madikwe Game Reserve. These pictures demonstrate how dry and dead everything looks at that time of your in this part of the world:

Picture caption: Warthog foraging among dried grasses and sticks
Picture caption: Buffalo heading to the man-made waterhole. They rely on artificially created water holes during the winter.
Picture caption: Buffalo on the move and stirring up the dust
Picture caption: Another picture of the buffs in a cloud of dust.

Story Chat

Talented writer, Marsha Ingrao, is the brain behind the innovative Story Chat series of blog posts. Story Chat involves the submission of a story or a poem which is published on Marsha’s blog, Always Write, and open to constructive discussion by her blog supporters. It is a most informative and interesting process and well worth considering for all poets and writers. You can find out more about Story Chat and find the schedule and submission process here: https://alwayswrite.blog/2024/11/22/story-chat-2025-schedule/

Marsha was kind enough to publish my poem, Invisible People, as part of her Poetry Day for Story Chat Digest 2025.

Story Chat Digest: Poetry Day
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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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102 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – Two poems for d’Verse and Story Chat #poetry”

  2. I love the way you Africanised the prompt and incorporated Zulu mythological creatures that bring rain, thunder and lightning, as opposed to spring or more snow, Robbie. No snow in South Africa. I admire the way you set the vivid and awful scenes in the opening and closing paragraphs – so evocative and devastating.

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          1. Hi, Robbie and All.

            Yes, what Robbie says is true. It is wonderful when we as writers are aware that we’ve touched someone with their words.

            It’s why I try without much success to get people to comment on my blog or use the email link to contact.

            Be sure to write to one another and let them know you’re reading.

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  19. Your writeup is very sad Robbie. Sending you joyous vibes.

    I get very annoyed with the Groundhog so called legend/superstition here, because it is so far removed from how the superstition began — yet everywhere stated as being “the” one.

    Anyhow, wishing you a wonderful week. Hugs.

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  20. Flash floods, deluges, that sounds like home both in CA and AZ where the weather can be so dry for such a long time. I love the way you described it, “The parched earth, unable to absorb the deluge, regurgitated the water creating flash floods across the land.” That is exactly what it seems like.

    Thanks for the shout out for Story Chat, and the complimentary words. You didn’t mention that your poem caused lots of important chatter. It is an amazing work of art, Robbie. I think it might be your best work ever. (And that’s saying a lot!)

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      1. I agree with you, soft rain is much preferred. I talked to a friend of mine last night. A couple of years ago, which I wrote the poem about the talking bridge, they had a horse that stepped into an area where the water had been regurgitated. (I thought of your poem.) He was buried in mud over his back. Only his head was out of the mud. It took almost all the firetrucks in the county to free him, but they did. The video went viral, I guess, but I didn’t even know about it until last night.

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          1. I imagine that erratic weather is very hard on the wild animals. Do they have dams that contain the water during flood times? We have ponding basins everywhere in Visalia because the Kaweah River forms a delta when it gets off the mountain. So we are like the Nile River delta, only smaller with dozens of small streams running off the River. The River is dammed, or Visalia would be flooded every ten years or so, bridges are ruined etc. Even with the dam, we lost bridges and that happened to poor Fred. So I can understand the damage of flash floods and erratic weather. 🙂

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  22. Fantastic, Robbie, with mesmerizing Zulu mythology. Those pictures are wonderful. Seeing those buffalo in the dry season is captivating, and the man-made waterhole is a blessing for them.

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  27. I am having a hard time posting comments today. Let’s see if this one goes through. Anyway, I liked the Unkulunkulu story and I loved the photos. Here in north Texas / Dallas it has not been very cold lately but rather unusually warm. It was 82 degrees yesterday (28 Celsius). I have not yet gotten used to the groundhog day tradition. It is a tradition that is somewhat strange and before I arrived in the US I had never heard of it.

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  31. Thank you for sharing some South African folklore, Robbie. I love that. And the photos are spectacular, dry and dusty, but that adds a magical sepia tone to them – especially the middle two of the buffaloes. Gorgeous shots. And congrats again on the Story Chat poem, which you know I loved.

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  32. OMG! The first 2 pics of buffalo look like paintings. Is that the dry giving it that look?

    The Forsaken is a terrific tale, folklore at its finest.

    I’ll head over to Marsha’s blog, after a read a post or 2 more here!

    Thanks Robbie!

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      1. Great idea, I look forward to that!

        Also, I’ll be putting a repost of the previous post with the Japanese street art when I do the post about your book.

        “While the Bombs Fell” I have 1 or 2 questions. I’ll send a mail soon!

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  33. Robbie,

    I went over and read Invisible. It is most brilliant and painfully honest, a wonderful piece of writing.

    I didn’t leave a comment there (I did “like”), as WP has been doing weird things when I comment, both on blogs I have commented on before, and definitely have not.

    These WP gremlin things usually clear up on their own.

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    1. HI Resa, I am so happy you appreciated that poem. I think it is one of my best. Thank you. WP is doing weird things with comments and I found 3 of yours in Spam – why? I will have to remember to check Spam more often. You should be fine now though. I’ve also had some issues where WP says my comment hasn’t been approved and I have to rewrite it. Now I copy my comments before I submit.

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      1. Thank you for freeing me!!!!!

        I check spam every few days. It is ridiculous who I find in there time to time.

        I am copying all my comments, too!

        Just love the the Japanese street art post!!

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      1. Robbie, I’m guessing the enclosures are to keep them safe. The backlash is they are also made vulnerable because of it. I’m so glad interventions with water are made!

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  36. The background to the haibun is fascinating, Robbie, and the haibun itself paints a picture as vivid as your art on the toll the scorching heat takes on the living.

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