Hell, Well, Heaven by Mongane Wally Serote

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I do not know where I have been,

But Brother,

I know I’m coming.

I do not know where I have been,

But Brother,

I know I heard the call,

Hell! where I was I cried silently

Yet I sat there until now.

I do not know where I have been,

But Brother,

I know I’m coming:

I come like a tide of water now,

But Oh! there’s sand beneath me!

I do not know where I have been

To feel so weak, Heavens! so weary.

But Brother,

Was that Mankunku’s* horn?

Hell! my soul aches like a body that has been beaten,

Yet I endured till now.

I do not know where I have been,

But Brother,

I know I’m coming.

I do not know where I have been,

But Brother I come like a storm over the veld,

And Oh! there are stone walls before me!

I do not know where I have been

To have fear so strong like the whirlwind (will it be that brief?)

But Brother,

I know I’m coming.

I do not know where I have been,

But Brother,

Was that Dumile’s† figure?

Hell, my mind throbs like a heart beat, there’s no peace;

And my body of wounds – when will they be scars? –

Yet I can still walk and work and still smile.

I do not know where I have been

But Brother,

I know I’m coming.

I do not know where I have been,

But Brother,

I have a voice like the lightning-thunder over the mountains.

But Oh! there are copper lightning conductors for me!

I do not know where I have been

To have despair so deep and deep and deep

But Brother,

I know I’m coming.

I do not know where I have been

But Brother.

Was that Thoko’s* voice?

Hell, well, Heavens!