A Farewell To Petersfield Poem by Gert Strydom

(after Leonard Nolens)

In an own paradise we were together
where white stinkwood trees throw cool shadows over the green lawn
where weavers, doves and sparrows do constantly frolic on the branches,
where the sun shines with its bright rays
and in that pretty garden there was no snake,
only hadedah ibises that land with a heavy wing-beat and do sometimes screech
where pink roses did creep over a cupola
and here and there were pots with fuchsias
that red, pink and white, pink and blue and even orange
hang in big bushes with their bells
and we did pull out all of the weeds
while turtle-doves and laughing-doves did coo and flutter down
to peck up the crumbs in the back-yard,
the dogs did open the small gate to follow me
and back in the pond there were golden-fishes that swam around,
there were all kinds of lilies that did constantly flower,
roses that like trees did grow covered with flowers
where I could only write poems every now and then
in Petersfield extension one
where the heaven did hang blue over me.

[Reference: "Afscheid van Missenburg" (Farewell to Missenburg)by Leonard Nolens.]