He Was There Poem by Siyabonga A Nxumalo

He Was There

Rating: 4.8


i saw his blood
on the street last night.

i sorbed, thinking of
that black friday.
that took him away from us.
that brought end and begining.

it brought end to his life.
life devoted to working
for his people.
life lived for other people.
life lived for a short while.

it brought a begining to our lives.
lives lived without him.
lives lived crying for him.
lives lived with other people.

his frail, lifeless body lay there.
his blood splashed on that tar road,
his eyes wide open but blind.
they could no longer see.
he could no longer breath.

he was there, among them all.
he participated in the struggle,
he was a victim of apartheid
police, not once or twice.

he was brutally asaulted,
like them all,
on numerous occasions.

he carried machine guns,
with them.
he fired a few shots,
like them.
he was a freedom fighter,
like them.

they are enjoying the
fruits of dermocracy.
they are sharing the
rewards of their hardwork.

nothing comes our way,
nobody knows or remember him.
to them he never lived,
he never participated.

I'm not bitter,
but that blood in my dream
reminded me that.....
HE WAS THERE..! !

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Mishack Mchunu 17 January 2012

Loved it, some didn't even die but are still not recognised my brother, they were there. Wonderful poem I really enjoyed it!

3 0 Reply
Benjamin Paa Willie 18 January 2012

I really like this poem. great style and message. The length, to me, is just ideal for such a message.

1 0 Reply
Hans Vr 19 January 2012

Yes Siyabonga, very true. So many heroes have given their lives for our freedom. And often they are forgotten all too early. Murderous greedy dictators and twisted minds have been pushed away at the cost of many young lives. These are true heroes and deserve to be remembered by us all. Wonderful poem shaking us a bit awake from our comfort zone. Very well written

1 0 Reply
Pheko Motaung 20 January 2012

The good as they say....die young.And we may also say...the mediocre are always waiting in the wings ready to claim/take credit for what they have'nt done.And have you seen how many of them have appeared to steal and plunder from the public till in our country?

1 0 Reply
Young Church Poetry 21 January 2012

Your poetry is so good it touches my soul, could feel it in my heart. Very emotional poem and I love it.

1 0 Reply
Lungelo S Mbuyazi 28 April 2018

Oh Siyabonga, what an emotional piece of writing there. Absolutely touching.

1 0 Reply

You Know I have so many people I can think of, who have died in the most inhuman ever way there could ever be, all that because of efforts they put, just to level the road for those like us, they sacrificed their own lives that belonged to their families, to mention but a few Steve Bantu Biko, the list is endless, but I can truly sense the is this one person which you tried to relate to in this write, its really sad, but worth reading for the sake of inner-peace The_African_Son

1 0 Reply
Shenika Vermaak 03 February 2012

lovely poem and well written.

1 0 Reply
Brianna Winebarger 26 January 2012

this is a sadly fantastic poem. it filled me with remembrance of something from the past. thank you for letting me remember!

1 0 Reply
Vipins Puthooran 21 January 2012

it's a very touching poem// great write! ! Top marks! ! ! !

1 0 Reply
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