Introducing my Ekphrastic collaboration with South African artist BERNICE BORRILL
Photo Credit © Bernice Borrill
I am Africa Diva
I, Diva – I am the legend of millennia. My story still epically riddled with fear. At the dawn of time my
worth rather sublime – My gift to man painfully a warped perceived divine crime. Instinct and intuition
my lifetime ambition. Abused and violently misused, even glorified in European human freak shows,
Laws of man and land could not break me! Even through their scarlet imprints they refused to see my
Earthly connection – Created by atomic friction or whichever god you believe in – My universal appeal
still causing global contradiction. I am still a pulsating life-giving fierce force – Witness to senseless and
devouring devastating cultural existential depleting divisive unnecessary destructive deleting wars…
My legacy will be historically murmured forever – For I am and always will be, Africa Diva!
I, Phoenix – I rise from the bitter charred doomed ashes of Apartheid, spreading my determined
liberated fiery wings, melting my inherited divisive derisive chains from generations of captured minds –
I rise, proudly soaring ever higher to realise my true possible potential, my growing confidence
consequential, my proud lineage historical, my forefathers and mothers existentially influential as I burn
off the gangrenous remains of a racial ideology in flames writhing headlessly aimlessly – I rise!
Cradle of Mankind – My homeland South Africa and indeed Africa, where ancient stones and bones echo
my generation’s global heritage, reverberating our desperate ancient moans of extinction of human
extinction of human succession found in paleoanthropological revelatory missions – Introducing us to
‘Mrs Ples’, our 2.3 million year old ancestor – She, who reminds us to cleanse ourselves from searing
detrimental hate and bitter jealousy as well as hungering for earthly thrones and cancerous animosity –
I say this to you – Let universal love permeate through you, igniting your peaceful inner halo to finally
soar higher than you ever imagined and to own your destiny and say “I’m possible”!
Rainbow Nation – I willingly drown in the colours of us, the beauty of us, as I languish in my nation’s
Metamorphosis whilst disintegrating Apartheid’s toxic dust! Never and never again will we allow the
Disintegration of our beautiful nation! Yellow – My new inner flow radiated by the African sun. Red –
Proud of my multi-racial blood defining me, empowering me, liberating me, reviving me…
Blue – My inner peace reflected in these African skies above and two oceans kissing and hugging our
South African shores, leaving its showers of blessing imprinted in our DNA to breathe for yet
another cleansing day. Green – Giving me breath of life, our fauna and flora unique in the world we
hope to protect, nurture and live in harmoniously in blissful co-existence but only if we insist to truly try
and resist our carbon footprints to ensure a future green necessary persistence for new generations…
Black – Despite our unfortunate dark tainted history, we all share its languishing chemistry!
© Don Beukes
Who is Bernice Borrill?
Bernice Borrill describes herself as an ordinary woman from Cape Town, South Africa.
She has always loved painting, especially capturing the colours and people surrounding her.
There are no colours in the world that compares with her homeland’s rich, vibrant and pulsating South African culture.
She loves writing too and had a collection of short stories published. She likes to tell stories of people like her; the ordinary, who make up the colourful tapestry that is South Africa.
She achieves this either with the written word or through paintings.
Who is Don Beukes?
Don Afrika-Beukes Chronicles 
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