Lament Poem by Gert Strydom

When I was but a primary school boy
I would play with a girl
as my mate
and she had freckles
close to her nose
and red hair swishing
in a neat ponytail

and I would blush
when she gave me
a innocent kiss
and my heart
would miss a beat
and we would share our sandwiches
or eat each others
and to me that girl was really neat.

When I got a little older
I was really shy, when a lovely girl
caught my eye
and I would walk her home
after class
and we would talk
about our dreams
and go together to the library
and for a swim at the town pool

and she would watch me
doing athletics and playing rugby
and I would watch her
playing netball

and sometimes I would surprise her
with a rose or two
or with some chocolates
and get some French kisses
and her blue eyes sparkled
and she was more than just cool.

When I was in metric
I met a beautiful girl at the beach
where she was tanning
and her eyes devoured me
and I was full of confidence
and electricity leaped between us
and that summer holiday
she taught me a thing or two
and that girl
was honest and lovely
and her way of living
still lingers in me.

When I was a young man
and called up to the army
and went to war
having to kill a man or two
in order to survive and stay alive
I grew up pretty quickly,
knew about integrity
and staying true

and when my girlfriend left me
to immigrate overseas
my world was falling apart
when I met a beautiful captain
right there in a military camp
while preparing for war
and she seduced me
and more than that
we made love
as if there’s no tomorrow
and shared some secrets
with each other
before I had to go
and she disappeared
while still being dear to me.

At university I met the girl
of my dreams
and it was magic
when she liked me too
and falling really in love
was great
with the person
destined for you

and I wrote her some poems,
gave her some cards, chocolates
and expensive perfume

and every look, every touch, every kiss,
every embrace was the best
that I have ever had

and we got engaged and married
and at my first job
a colleague at work
became my so called friend
and he had to have her
at any cost
and then I lost her
and went to stay
a thousand miles away.

Working I had a choice of girls
but yearned for the one that I had lost
for a period of years long,
but another gorgeous girl found me
and she was my sunshine, my rain,
my breakfast, my lunch and dinner

and we lived a thousand years
in the short time that we had
and if my life was destined
only to be happy with a girl like that
it had been well worth the living
as she was dedicated to me
and like no other would ever be,

but destiny rolled its dice
and I lost her to death
very suddenly

and met a girl with two boys
just older than toddlers
and for years tried to built
a life with them,
but she cheated me
time and again
and left me
for another lover
and tried to ruin me
with the leaving.

Then I met a girl
who was a painter, musician
and poet
and I tried to connect
with her soul
and what was between us
went much deeper
than mere looks,
and when we broke up
I couldn’t understand why
and I still wonder
how she now feels about me?

l’Envoi
And now all those days have gone bye
and I would be happy
to have a Sunday wife
who knows how to be true
even if we have to pray night and day
and even if angels
would come from her womb
as long as she really loves me.

[Reference: Lament by Dylan Thomas.]