From Severe Sorrow He Almost Went Mad Poem by Gert Strydom

(after Robert Ranke Graves)

From severe sorrow he almost went mad
when he suddenly saw some strange things
in nature and the universe
and maybe it came from to much sorrow;

he noticed small things like falling leaves,
the smallest white flower slowly opening,
the first tiny whistle of a small bird,
thunder hitting far in the distance

even rocks glistening with black metal,
he even saw wings of birds fluttering,
the movement of every small snake,
but between life and death he could not reach

and he could not look at his buried wife
or living go to that other kingdom.