Kariba Lake Poem by Gert Strydom

Really happy, at the brink
of the big Kariba lake
like the great Livingstone,
we were pioneers
viewing that stretch of water
swallowing the river.

Growing up on farmsteads
we hand never seen
fresh water meeting the horizon
and falling into depths
like at the edge of the houseboat.

Your blonde hair falling in waves
catching the sun in its sparkle,
blue eyes clearer that the deep blue sky,
face glowing with anticipation,
body tanned to mahogany brown,
firm breasts swelling
with every breath you took,
you looked like a goddess
at the face of creation.

Every pace measured to perfection
in movement still the gymnast
you danced on that deck
free in the fresh breeze
enjoying the sky,
the cool water
that made your nipples
hard and showing through
the white bikini top,
but on that deck
were only you and I
and we loved each other
as if there was going
to be no tomorrow.

Fishing rods with reels,
Hooks, lines and sinkers
found their way into the water
baited with earthworms, maize
and the cook’s secret dough
and we caught buckets full
of the biggest carp
that I have ever seen,
and you were in your element
and we were really alive
and that holiday
felt like being in paradise.

Maybe the gods
were not happy with our offers,
or those lazy days
that at the time
seemed almost endless,
was given as a last goodbye.

We were hardly back
still on a high
of being really happy,
when your life was taken
snapped out in a split second
and the reality
of being human
pierced me.

[Reference: To Minette, of whom there is just memories.]