“Lay Bare Your Skills” Cape Town, South Africa February 2017
Every morning on the side of the road leading over the mountain towards the centre of Cape Town, there’s always a long row of men, some standing, some crouching, most in blue overalls, waiting for work.
And in front of each man, there is a set of tools laid out neatly on the ground. “Here’s what I can do”, they say. “Here are all the skills I can offer you”, they say, speaking with the symbolism of wood and metal.
....So what if, every morning, the world demanded that you lay down a set of symbols of what you had to give to it? To lay bare your skills, arranged neatly on a square of dirt.
What have I even got to give the world, I wonder? Not much that seems as tangible as a set of tools.
I have ears, to listen deeply with.
I have a heart, to feel love.
I have paint-brushes, to show you what I see.
I have lips, to speak what I know.
….
The kind of tools you can’t quite carry in a box.