To Nelson Mandela Poem by Elizabeth Padillo Olesen

Today the world bids goodbye
to you, wanting to see your
face for the last time,
wishing to hear your
challenges in our time.

You, a prisoner for freedom
within 27 years with a smile,
You, a husband, separated
from the side of your wife,
You, a father, denied to attend
the funeral of your dear child.

What made you nurture
the seeds of freedom and justice
without remorse, revenge and hate?
What made you survive
drinking only the elixirs
for reconciliation and peace?

Now the world pays tribute
to the trace of your greatness;
Now the world buries your body
to the ground and remembering
what you have left behind.

A trace of God’s heart of love
is printed on your eternal face.
Thanks for your servant life;
Sleep well and enter into
the bliss of peace in God’s paradise.

___________________

December 15,2013