By Chance Poem by Gert Strydom

(after Heinrich Heine)

By chance when you were my fiancée,
I met your sister that looks like you,
that similarity not a person could miss
but it's softer that your eyes do glance at me.

Her smile to me was full of hidden meaning
and her eyes did not want to yield before mine.
She looked at me with the knowledge of years
but from you I will never deviate.

While smoking your dog bit her and I was full of sympathy
but nothing between the two of you is similar
and you did cry when at night I left with my motorbike,
she was stereotyped as worldly and you are in simplicity glorious.

Years later when we visited her from shock you were stunned,
as she pushed a gun against my head and I did avoid it,
she said that I am too religious and to me she is like an extremist,
where you are both beautiful descending from the French.

Like all dogs hers has with me a bond
and from terror and fright it did pee poor Hannes wet,
did not trust his good intentions kept receding from him
but that small animal did jump onto my lap.

[Poet's note: "Als ich, auf der reise" by Heinrich Heine.]