Warm Soil

We shall never know what the soil is capable of because we wear gardening gloves. We don’t want to dirty the nails. You can’t blame us because the manicure and the set of nails cost over $100 and that’s a lot of money to lose in dirt.

Dirt is soil. Soil is a where food is born. That is why the soil is warm, like all things that give life. I once saw a female goose sitting on a flower bed near a busy outlet mall. I came closer to snap a picture but a passer-by warned me against it. She said the bird was sitting on her eggs and might attack me if she senses danger. I didn’t know.

Soil is warm like mother goose. That’s why it is home to small living creatures you cannot feel because of the gloves you wear to protect your nails. Small kids will enjoy that warmth because they are curious. They need to know why they were born. What’s this? What’s that? They touch everything. Ask dogs and cats. Kids touch the ugly mouths and pets understand.

Kids, whose parents wear gardening gloves miss the most crucial part of education. Which is? Warmth of the soil. The soil as an incubator, a solar panel or a bakery. Kids that grow up on a farm know about the warmth because they ‘play’ on and with soil. Sure, they have tablets and iPads, but they are not as fun as pulling cornstalks from the soil and feeling roots’ warmth.

It depends on where you live I suppose. City kids call the soil dirt, because mom calls it dirt. Kids in rural areas call it the soil because of chores related to planting and harvesting. They know the soil is warmth. Warmth is where all living things come from, especially food mom throws in the pot.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Executive Blogger