Victoria Falls

Muriel Spark

(* 1. Februar 1918 in Edinburgh; † 13. April 2006 in Florenz)

Von der weltberühmten Schottin kennt man vor allem Prosa, aber sie hat auch Gedichte geschrieben. Leider hab ich keins auf Deutsch gefunden. Zum 100. Geburtstag:

The Victoria Falls

 So hushed, so hot, the broad Zambesi lies
 Above the Falls, and on her weedy isles
 Swing antic monkeys swarm malignant flies,
 And seeming-lazy lurk long crocodiles.
 But somewhere down the river does the hush
 Become a sibilance that hints a sigh,
 A murmur, mounting as the currents rush
 Faster, and while the murmur is a cry
 The cry becomes a shout, the shout a thunder
 Until the whole Zambesi waters pour
 Into the earth’s side, agitating under
 Infinite spray mists, pounding the world’s floor.
   Wrapped in this liquid turmoil who can say
   Which is the mighty echo, which the spray?

Fotos © Michael Gratz