Attired in elegant beadwork and all covers
and colors customary, Dakalo is a dazzling star.
A pretty princess of proficiency and tongues
and visions, she speaks six national languages.
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Her fingers are the fine stylists of wall designs
fashioned with multicolored earth pigments.
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Her homestead has painted prominent walls
whose ingenuity draws in diverse spectators.
Dakalo is a joyful, proud poetess, songstress,
traditional dancer who hails from Beitbridge.
Dakalo means joy in Venda or Tshivenda, as
a lady she greets with aa and I boom with ndaa!
She carols and performs in Tshivenda, Koisan,
Sotho,Xhosa and TjiKalanga with stirring fluency.
I am a wordless, confessed, happy hearer, stalker, fan
and pupil of her soulful traditional songs and poetry.
Since her poetry has smiles as wide as similes of gaiety,
its metaphors are vibrant, vivid showers of wit and magic.
Her poetry is an Afrocentric dish of literary depth
and a devotion to her grace, voice, logo and legacy.
It rolls and roars with soft but solid reflections,
rich ricochets, creations, descriptions and emotions.
Her folkloric poetry offers imaginative possibilities
that dance with one into a decorous, delicious trance.
Every term she tames, touches, carves and couriers
is a delicacy and a candidate for defining and refining.
