Where Are The Cows? (Ziphi Iinkomo)/Looking Up

Where Are The Cows? (Ziphi Iinkomo)

by

Beverley Samler

Compiled by Njabulo Ngobese

We continue to salute and pay homage to the women in arts who have used their skills to be actively involved in the fight for basic human rights.

Beverly Samler was born in Zambia and lived most of her life in Zimbabwe. In 1980 she came down to South Africa and settled in the Eastern Cape. After a long break she found herself painting again and ended up at the Buffalo City Public FET College's printmaking studio where she studied for four years under Rose Warren.

Beverly's passion for printmaking is balanced with other media, such as photography and painting. With two solo exhibitions held in the Eastern Cape, she has also exhibited in numerous group showings locally and in Zimbabwe. In 2003, Beverly participated in the third international Printmaking Conference in Cape Town, where she was involved in the production of a community based project and exhibition, Salted Lines. Other printmaking conferences and exhibitions Beverly attended include the Germany and Poland conference held in 2005 where she initiated and co-facilitated an exhibition Proud Survivors. And she also exhibited at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.

Beverly is a board member for the Ann Bryant Art Gallery. She is motivated to use art to improve and educate her community.

Poem:

Looking up

Finuala Dowling

The moment before you died

You looked up,

The way all children look up: hopefully.

You were expecting us to come

But we didn’t come.

You see --

The economy has been growing at 3.2% per year

Many of our shopping malls have parking for over 1000 cars

Things have been looking up

We’ve had a lot of new stuff to look after

Of course, when we read how you’d died,

You had three hundred thousand mothers;

You had four hundred thousand fathers.

Yet it’s true that the moment before you died,

You looked up, and no one came.

Impucuko

IsiXhosa translation: Tessa Dowling and Nosipho Tshabane

Umzuzwana phambi kokuba usweleke

Wajonga phezulu

Ngendlela bonke abantwana abajonga ngayo: ngethemba.

Ubulindele okokuba sifike

Kodwa zange sifike.

Uyabona ke --

Uqoqosho lunyuke kakuhle ngonyaka

iivenkile zethu ezinkulu zineendawo zokupaka iimoto ezingaphezu kwewaka

Izinto ziye zaphucuka

Besinezinto ezininzi ezintsha esinokujonga kuzo

Kaloku, sakuba sifunde indlela obusweleke ngayo

Ubunentlaninge yoomama;

Ubunentlaninge yootata.

Nangona, uthe ngomzuzwana phambi kokuba usweleke

Wajonga phezulu,

Kodwa akwabikho

namnye ufikayo

A Brief Biography of Finuala Dowling

Finuala Dowling is a former Unisa lecturer now working as a freelance writer. She has published two volumes of poetry, I Flying (awarded the Ingrid Jonker Prize) and Doo-Wop Girls of the Universe. She is also the author of a novel, What Poets Need, several short stories published in local and international anthologies, and an award-winning comedy, Bungee Writing Finals. She lives with her extended family in Kalk Bay, Cape Town.