To Be Great Is No Child's Play Poem by Niki Nicholas Nkuna

The road via the children's playground is the easy way,
Running downhill, effortless,
I reached my destination in bewilderment,
The calabash empty, I remained tasty,
My search for gold did not yield any fruits either,
I remained empty handed,
I realised, to be great is no child's play,

So many distractions to my focus,
Legitimate or not,
They concern my wellbeing,
And the wellbeing of my people versus the cause,
The cause to fight for human rights,
I realised, to be great is no child's play,

The road via the children's playground is the easy way,
It comforts the zone where one lives,
False security while living in perpetual hardship and danger,
I realised, to be great is no child's play,

My determination to succeed is independent,
When I am in the ring I don't look at my trainer,
I had one pillar in the centre of my shelter,
That can only withstand the weight with my resolve,
My resolve, my strength, the centre of envy,
To many political and apolitical leaders,
I knew, to be great is no child's play,

My beauty, the silencer of resistance,
The softening of the hard hearts,
The hard nuts to crack,
I knew I had two weapons, the one behind the weapon,
And the weapon itself,
My beauty sparkles and bugles men's knees,
While I smother them with my valour,
I knew, to be great is no child's play,

Surviving on my own was harder,
Without the pillar of my strength,
Nelson Mandela,
Harder than the word itself,
My upbringing, a fortified foundation for bigger things to come,
A sign for my resolve to be steel,
My marriage to Nelson Mandela,
A sign for the Good, Bad and the Ugly,
A sign for great things, the worst and great sacrifices,
I knew, to be great is no child's play,

I feared no enemy,
But the swarm of bees at the centre of which it's me,
The Queen mother bee,
The biblical Judas Iscariot, typical cowardice,
Everywhere in camouflage,
Selling newspapers outside the ring,
Foes lagged everywhere, but painted black like me,
Thus, seemed innocuous, the wolves in sheep skin,
At times I mistook salt for sugar,
However in a small scale,
My beauty and wit, the envy of the enemy,
I knew, to be great is no child's play,

I resolve a long time ago to wear a coat,
That grew thick transcendentally,
That protected me effectively against the hazard of the time,
I dare not fail the struggle for freedom,
I knew the cost of the decision I took,
Too exorbitant to be contemplated,
To be great against all odds,
And I knew, to be great is no child's play,

The harsher the wind blow,
The stronger I fought back to keep straight and tearless,
Legislation decreed that I should bend sideways,
Like a reed blown by strong winds,
I obeyed with a heart of steel,
My spiky teats dripped the lactation of truth,
From which my fellow men and women drank, and drank, and drank,
Until they are intoxicated and could see no enemies' vicious eyes,
Bravely, they crossed the legal and wicked boundaries into freedom land.