Wolraad Woltemade Appears Poem by Gert Strydom

He comes from the sea as a spectre
with seaweeds hanging on him
and rides his horse
that its hoofs crash like thunder
until he stops to climb down

and looks at the wide world,
are astounded for moments
and the horse snorts, sniffs in the wind,
wants to return to the sea again.

It’s clear that everything now is different
and he notices a ship sailing past,
hears factories droning in the distance
and smell the age-old fog of the sea.

[Poet’s note: After fearlessly riding into the storm swept sea to rescue several people from a sinking ship (De Jonge Thomas) on 1 June 1773, Wolraad Woltemade had perished in the great waves.]