By Shannon Kenny
PROMPT — Despite ...
* Written as Shannon was waiting for her husband who was undergoing chemotherapy for an aggressive lymphoma.
In the waiting area of the public hospital where my husband is receiving treatment
I shut my eyes and listen
as the words of others —
English, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Shona, Afrikaans, French, Sesotho —
first ricochet off walls and ceilings
then gather on the floor
like dust to rise and swirl about the room as
a whirlwind of consonants and vowels
syllables, sibilance
stretched and
clipped
are woven by accent, timbre, pitch, tone, rhythm
into worlds, meaning
curled, twisted
misheard, misinterpreted, modified
repeated, repurposed
punctuated by pause
and affect
our very core as they are molded
within a few short breaths,
to provide comfort
and the assurance
that we are still alive
Shannon Kenny is an actor and writer from Durban, on South Africa's sub-tropical east coast. She delights in the love and life of those she holds dear. Shannon is a prisoner of Hope — that the world is, through the long arc of history, becoming a more just, more equitable, kinder, and joyful place to live.