I Am Free, Your Deed! (A Tribute To Mandela) Poem by Desmond Okon

Freedom, his name was freedom.

I, as an African was born by your onerous desire,
Caged from the bondage of polar bears, I inhaled CO2.

I wept for the plight of my young,
In their struggle to break the chains off my feet,
But were killed.

They spoke, but were mute,
The clubs of apartheid left marks on their backs.
As they went into their huts with shattered backs.

Yet, they waxed on in their quest unbroken,
As the command of muskets kissed their will broken.

All I saw! How my kinsmen wailed?
I sort for the he-men and nobles to amble the fore line,
Stretched are my arms in vain.
My tears fluxed like a stream through a pipeline,

Until you came and took them in your embrace,
And whispered the words of hope,
The words of liberation,
Freedom!

Like a mackintosh you shielded me from the rain.
You, Madiba, in your campaign were a garrison,

Your course for my liberty was taken a treason,
Not once were you treacherous, but selfless you were,
As you took delight in incarceration for years.

Fulfilled!
Your legacies will be a monument my offspring shall run with.
I am free now,

Your deed!
Free from the claws of Robben Island, Pollsmoor, Victor Vester.
Free now!

From inequality, racism! That my generation dine on the gravestone of apartheid rulership,
Your deed!

That my peers call me sovereign and elevate me as powerful,
Your deed!

I am free now,
Like a fountain will your legacies be in our hearts.

Freedom, his name was freedom!