The art of letting go
Left stranded in the space
Cast aside, out in the open,
Abandoned in the wild—
discarded, forsaken,let go,
walking away for good.
turning a blind eye, you flee,
Forgetting, surrendering
You pull your feet back from this ground,
You abandon the township you once knew.
Resigning yourself; you give up the fight.
Refusing, renouncing
drawing yourself back into the shadows.
Leaving behind, you flee the scene,
Yet you bequeath what remains as a legacy—
Writing your last will, transferring the weight,
Handing over the deed to all you owned.
You pass down the mantle, you lay down your task,
You cross the threshold into retirement.
You step off the line,
You resign, you relinquish the work,
Giving due notice of your departure.
You step down from the throne, you abdicate the chair,
You withdraw into quiet solitude.
Leaving behind... and handing over...
giving,you grant,
bestowing,transforming
Trusting enough to entrust your responsibility,
delivering you hand it across,
Yielding it for another's use.
bestowing,lending
Permitting,yielding
sever the bond with what was,
discarding and dissolving all earthly ties.
turning away, you dismiss the past;
Letting go, you allow, you set free.
You grant permission—
You give power, releasing the tether.
Here are the schemes of quietude, the long pauses,
The sabbaticals and the days of rest.
The permission to simply stay home,
The temporary peace of a brief stillness.
Official permits,
Certificates of passage,
The delicate race for dispensations,
The movements of departure and travel—
To pull back, to leave, to step out.
A withdrawal.
A final separation,
A turn back toward home,
Leaving behind only the soft rustle of autumn leaves—
A whisper of farewell.
Sepedi translate
Go tlogelwa fela mo phatlalatseng
O lahlilwe go le pontšheng,
O lahlilwe naga-seng,
O lahlilwe, o tlogetswe, o lesitšwe,
O sepetše go ya go ile.
O furalela o tšhaba,
O lebala, o ineela.
O goga leoto la gago mmung wo,
O tlogela lokutši lo o sa le tsebago.
O kgaotsa, o fela matla ntweng.
O a gana, o a lafola,
O ikgutletša moritšhing.
O tlogela morago, o tšhaba felong le,
Efeela o tlogela seo se šetseng e le bohwa—
O ngwala lefa la gago la mafelelo, o fetisa boima,
O neelana ka dineo tša tšohle tše e bilego tša gago.
O neelana ka maikarabelo, o bea mošomo fatshe,
O tshela mojako wa go rola modiro.
O fapoga mothaladi,
O a rola, o tlogela mošomo,
O neela temošo ya go tloga gago.
O fologa setulo sa borena, o tlogela setulo,
O ikgutletša bodutu-ng bwa khutšo.
O tlogela morago... le go neelana...
O fa, o neela,
O fana, o a fetola.
O tshepa mo go lekanego go neela maikarabelo a gago,
O faniša, o neela ka go tšhela,
O e neeletša gore e šomišwe ke yo mongwe.
O fana, o a adima,
O dumelela, o a neela,
O kgaola lelempo le tša khale,
O lahla le go fediša dikamano tšohle tša lefase.
O furalela, o hlokomologa tša go feta;
O tlogela, o dumelela, o lokolla.
O neela tumelelo—
O fa maatla, o lokolla thapo.
Mo ke maano a khutšo, le dikgaotšo tše ditelele,
Makhutšo le matšatši a go khutša.
Tumelelo ya go dula gae feela,
Khutšo ya sebakanyana ya go homola.
Ditumelelo tša semmolo,
Ditlhankana tša go feta,
Mpotumbotume wa go hwetša ditumelelo,
Metsamao ya go tloga le leeto—
Go ikgula, go tloga, go tšwa.
Go ikgula.
Karogano ya mafelelo,
Phetogo ya go boela gae,
Go tlogela fela mothopo wa matlakala a go woma a lehlabula—
Lesebe le le sesane lwa go laelana.
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