A Winter Memory Poem by Daleen Enslinstrydom

It is heartbreaking when life seems to be unfair and unjust
and the privileges of having it all are reserved for only a few.
It’s difficult when emotions and experiences
are caught into one thought
and being poor leaves stains on the floors of your heart
and like glue it sticks and cannot be removed.

as like mismatched clothes on a winter’s day
when you have no uniform to keep you warm
and these memories are imbedded into your mind forever
where they tease and mock you and make you small.

Bleeding, cracked knuckles on a winter’s day
with no gloves to keep the cold out
and a fight against hardening your heart
makes it difficult to cope at school

but at home everything was different
and there we were all treated the same.
A clean scrubbed kitchen
and a bowl of soup warmed the heart
and the hands
and the nastiness of the day
was soon forgotten
and of love there was plenty to go around
like fresh baked bread and jam

but in the heart of a child
the realties, hardships and understanding
of the cruelty of life
was difficult to comprehend

but love made wearing worn-out clothes easier
as mother did always say:
“that the value of a person is not in their clothes
but in whom they are in the sight of God.”