Little Brother Poem by Gert Strydom

Little Brother



When you were my little brother,
the night frightened you,
as if the darkness
had something unimaginable,
some unpredictable thing
and in its vastness with dark creeping shadows
monsters were part of your imaginings

but when the sun was up and bright
nothing could take the hero character out of you,
you rode your brown Arabic stallion,
bareback even with blisters between your legs,
we swam every dam and stream
and knew each and every rock
and cave in the ridges
even far from our house.

At night it was a different thing
and when we passed the creek
with wind bristling through the reeds,
you though of ghosts, dark creatures
doing unspoken deeds
and when I sprinted away
revelling in your fear,
you shouted at me to stay near
and in my dreams
sometimes I still hear your childish voice

and now you are a father of two girls,
of which one is at university
and the other in high school,
you are a minister of religion
in your own spare time,
you are an advocate in the Supreme Court,
and at times the judge
without being scared of any kind of thing.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Topic(s) of this poem: brother
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Gert Strydom

Gert Strydom

Johannesburg, South Africa
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