Goodbye To Purple Covered Jacaranda Trees Poem by Gert Strydom

Goodbye to purple covered Jacaranda trees
which line the streets
and the great laagered fort on the hill
telling stories of times past,

the university on the knoll
next to which I once lived
waving with buildings and towers
sending its greetings into the sky

while I drive away fast
and the motorbike’s wheels sings whispering
do not look back

and its engine howls its cry against the wind
weeping instead of me
while I drive away from the city
that I love and where I cannot stay.

The bike flashes on in a blur
passing trucks and cars
racing on the highway
as if searching for the sun

and my heart is lost
and pain rips through me
with the parting from you
while I drive away
and I cannot understand
the seasons of the heart

and it is goodbye
to you too.