Douglas Geers
Qunu
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Qunu is a 10-minute work for SATB chorus, with text by the composer (below). The title "Qunu" is taken from the name of Nelson Mandela's hometown, and the spirit of the text is derived from the last speech he gave as President of South Africa, in which he expressed his desire to return to his hometown.
The text to Qunu is:
Oh, what a long day I've lived
Since the sun rose ninety years ago.
Now my toes yearn to wiggle
Into the soft soils of my youth:
Qunu calls me.
I will count the stars--my freedom
Shining off my hairless head.
I will lay down and breathe the air wet with memories,
Lives that whisper, gently bending long grasses.
And if my eyes rise in the morning
I will see as a child,
So young to this earth,
Innocent to history,
Clasped in the warm hands of home.
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